ABSTRACT
Studies have suggested that negative expectations and attributional style, along with other cognitive distortions and deficits in problem-solving skills, are likely to play an important role in the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioural difficulties in young people. As children develop in a social context, these affect regulation capacities are affected by a variety of factors, and CBT acknowledges that beliefs about shape and weight and their control need to be addressed within this social context. Because children and adolescents may struggle to use deductive reasoning to evaluate the functionality of their beliefs and have a tendency to think in an egocentric manner, cognitive therapy alone is likely to be of limited effectiveness in the majority of cases, and the need for well-designed cognitive behavioural techniques is warranted. There is a growing body of evidence that CBT techniques can bring about change in behavioural and emotional difficulties in young people (Graham, 2005). However, as the evidence for such approaches in young people with eating disorders is in its infancy, some extrapolation from the adult literature is necessary, with some consideration of developmental principles to guide choice and method of intervention. For a comprehensive account of how to use cognitive behavioural techniques with children and young people, readers are directed to Stallard (2002).
