Essentials of abnormal behavior

 

 

Textbook:

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., Sue, D., & Sue, S. (2014). Essentials of understanding abnormal behavior (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

 

Chapter 9 Textbook

9-1dOther Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders

The category  other specified feeding or eating disorders  includes seriously disturbed eating patterns that do not fully meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder. This is the most commonly diagnosed eating disorder and accounts for up to 30 percent of eating disorder diagnoses (Allen, Byrne, Oddy, & Crosby, 2013; Swanson, Crow, LeGrange, Swendsen, & Merikangas, 2011). Examples of people who fit in this category include the following:

· Individuals of normal weight who meet the other criteria for anorexia nervosa

· Individuals who meet the criteria for bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder except that binge eating occurs less than once a week or has been present for less than 3 months

· Individuals with night-eating syndrome, a distressing pattern of binge eating late at night or after awakening from sleep

· Individuals who do not binge but frequently purge (self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas) as a means to control weight (APA, 2013)

Etiology of Eating Disorders

9-2bSocial Dimension

Can certain relationship patterns increase the likelihood of developing an eating disorder? Some individuals coping with eating disorders report that their parents or family members frequently criticized them, had a negative reaction to their eating issues, or blamed them for their condition (Di Paola, Faravelli, & Ricca, 2010). Childhood maltreatment and negative family relationships may produce a self-critical style that causes depression and body dissatisfaction (Dunkley, Masheb, & Grilo, 2010).

Did You Know?

Most women do not wish to be ultrathin.

· The amount of weight overweight or obese women “ideally” want to lose would still place them in the overweight category.

· Women of normal weight want to lose only a few pounds, not enough weight to be extremely thin.

· Underweight women believe they are at an ideal weight, suggesting that this group is most susceptible to messages regarding thinness.

Source: L. Neighbors & Sobal, 2007

Peers or family members can unintentionally produce pressure to be thin through discussions of weight and encouragement to diet or exercise (T. Jackson & Chen, 2010). Among college-age women, “fat talk” is common. It involves the discussion of being overweight with friends who usually deny this observation. Although women who engage in fat talk believe it makes them feel better about their bodies, this pattern of conversation can increase body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem (Rudigera & Winstead, 2013).

Certain social relationship patterns may increase the risk of developing an eating disorder. For example, mothers who diet are indirectly transmitting the message of the importance of slimness and a thin-ideal to their daughters (Keel, Forney, Brown, & Heatherton, 2013). Also, teasing and criticism about weight or body shape by family members is associated with body dissatisfaction, dieting, and eating problems (Vincent & McCabe, 2000).

Body Consciousness

Women and girls are socialized to be conscious of their bodies. Although most of the attention has been directed to concerns over appearance among young white girls, rates of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction are also high among Latina/Hispanic American and American Indian girls.

 

Myrleen Pearson/PhotoEdit

Did You Know?

Social competence, strong social bonds and social support, and personality variables, such as self-determination and autonomy, all lessen the media’s influence on body image.

Source: Ferrier-Auerbach & Martens, 2009

Peers can also produce pressure to lose weight, particularly when exposure to the ideal of thinness occurs during a critical period of development such as adolescence or early adulthood. In a longitudinal study, girls who reported that their friends were very focused on dieting at the beginning of the study were most likely to engage in extreme dieting and unhealthy weight control behaviors 5 years later (Eisenberg & Neumark-Sztainer, 2010). Similarly, women whose college friends and roommates focused on dieting were more likely to exhibit disordered eating during adulthood even though friendships, life roles, and the living environment had changed (Keel et al., 2013).