| Author/ Year/ Country | Focus | Method | Conclusion | Diagnostic inclusion criteria | N = | Treatment Regimen |
| Clinton, 1996 [20] Sweden | Role of patient-therapist relationship and other variables for DO by ED patients. | Quantitative | DO by ED patients is related to the patient-therapist relationship; Therapists should discuss patients’ expectations of treatment from the outset and focus on particular areas of discrepancy. | AN, BN, atypical ED _DSM III-R | 60 | Inpatient |
| Zeeck & Herzog, 2000 [12] Germany | Prospective study searching for predictors of DO. | Quantitative | Form of termination of treatment should be routinely assessed. Previous DO and comorbidity are indicators of DO risk. | AN _ICD-10 | 80 | Inpatient |
| Mahon et al., 2001 [21] United Kingdom | Retrospective study searching for pre-treatment factors predicting DO in BN and atypical BN outpatients. | Quantitative | Witnessing parental breakup, being younger, being employed outside the home, and having previous experience of psychiatric treatment predicted DO. Experiences of childhood trauma had a dose-effect relationship with DO. An impaired ability to trust resulting from disturbed attachments may link childhood trauma and dropping out. | BN, atypical BN _ICD-10 | 111 | Outpatient |
| Fassino et al., 2003 [27] Italy | Exploring personality, psychopathology and clinical features of bulimic patients who do not complete psychotherapy. | Quantitative | Profile of bulimic patients who dropped out from brief psychotherapy: they are less cooperative and more predisposed to anger, suggesting that dropping out in a subgroup of Bulimic patients could be related to borderline personality traits and to difficulties to maintain a therapeutic relationship. | BN _DSM IV | 86 | Outpatient |
| Surgenor et al., 2004 [9] New Zealand | Whether the risk of treatment drop-out can be determined by information routinely collected at admission. | Mixed Methods | Few variables commonly collated by clinicians contribute to identify patients likely to DO. | AN _DSM IV | 213 | Inpatient |
| Zeeck et al., 2005 [13] Germany | Identifying patient characteristics that distinguish dropouts from completers of in-patient treatment for AN. | Quantitative | Addressing the high ambivalence and maturity fears of anorexic patients should be an essential issue in psychotherapy with this patient group. | AN restrictive and purging subtypes _DSM IV/ICD-10 | 133 | Inpatient |
| Peake et al., 2005 [22] United Kingdom | Factors associated with dropping out of treatment at the Oxford Adult Eating Disorders Service. | Quantitative | Higher levels of depressive symptoms and cognitions, and the characteristic of impulsivity were related to DO. Identifying those patients and adopting an individually adapted treatment approach may reduce their ambivalence towards engaging in treatment. | It doesn’t mention diagnostic criteria. | 261 | Outpatient |
| Swan-Kremeiet al., 2005 [28] USA | Impact, on treatment attrition, of the distance traveled for treatment. | Quantitative | The higher DO rate in employed subjects suggests possible work conflicts. It is possible that subjects who live further away do not consider coming unless their motivation is high, whereas those less motivated do not even call. | BN, AN, EDNOS No reference to source of diagnostic criteria. | 209 | Outpatient |