Psychological and Demographic Predictors of Successful Weight Loss following Silastic Ring Vertical Stapled Gastroplasty

To identify psychological factors involved in obesity 45 individuals (40 women and 5 men), ranging in age from 21 to 54 years (M age = 41 yr.), who were candidates for silastic ring vertical stapled gastroplasty were assessed on the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory and the Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory-III. In addition, a number of demographic variables such as education, marital status, and age of onset of obesity were considered. Analysis indicated that significant predictors of weight loss at a 6-mo. postoperative assessment include age of onset of obesity and scores on the Schizoid scale of the Millon-III. These findings may be of assistance in identifying personality variables associated with changes in weight if replicated in a larger sample.