Brunna Tuschen-Caffier

Introduction Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is among the most common mental disorders in childhood and adolescence and significantly impairs social functioning and development (Burstein et al., 2011). It is characterized by an intense fear of negative evaluation and avoidance of social situations (Beidel & Turner, 2007).

Intranasal delivery of oxytocin compared to placebo increased attention to food cues in females with binge eating disorder (BED), whereas this relationship was reversed in weight-matched females without BED. Surprisingly, oxytocin increased snack intake across groups; this effect focused on females taking hormonal contraception. These results provide support for the assumption of disorder- and sex-specific effects of oxytocin on food-related incentive salience and food intake.

Treatment success rates for anorexia nervosa are still not high enough and could be enhanced using factors that are important during treatment. Therapeutic alliance plays a small but significant role in facilitating a better outcome for patients with anorexia nervosa and in preventing them from prematurely terminating treatment. The agreement between therapist and patient on the therapeutic task seems to be most important for this effect.