PRE-OPERATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN OBESE PATIENTS, CANDIDATES FOR BARIATRIC SURGERY

No evidence of specific personality traits characterizing the obese population has ever emerged. Furthermore, studies addressing personological differences between obese individuals with and without Binge Eating Disorder (BED) are not always consistent. In this study 70 obese patients, 22 males and 48 females, (Age range 18 - 67 years; M = 40.70; SD = 12.24) candidates for bariatric surgery, were evaluated with the following instruments: Eating Disorder Inventory, Binge Scale Questionnaire, Big Five Questionnaire and Rorschach Inkblot Test. Findings showed that the two groups were statistically different concerning food disorders, with worse results in obese patients with BED, but no personality differences emerged on the self-reported questionnaires. Conversely, Rorschach's responses and the analysis with the projective method, highlighted qualitative differences in mental functioning. These findings encourage the use of a projective test in the presurgical assessment for evaluating deeper eating-related problems as a possible individual marker of the post-operative outcome.