Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa: Their Incidence and Psychological Correlates in a High School Population (Eating Disorders, Appetite Disorders, Bulimarexia)
Vincent, Stephen G.
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68935
Description
Title
Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa: Their Incidence and Psychological Correlates in a High School Population (Eating Disorders, Appetite Disorders, Bulimarexia)
Author(s)
Vincent, Stephen G.
Issue Date
1984
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Clinical
Abstract
In the past few years there has been a growing interest in eating disorders, particularly bulimia and anorexia nervosa. As with most physiological and psychological disturbances, there is a clinical interest in determining the symptoms of these eating disorders and the antecedent factors associated with them. Although clinical studies on college students suggests that the onset of bulimia and anorexia nervosa probably occurs throughout the adolescent period, no study has been done with high school students to confirm this conclusion. It is the purpose of this study to identify the incidence of these two eating disorders and factors that may be signs of their onset.
Subjects for the study were high school students from a variety of geographic regions in Illinois. Of the 3823 students surveyed 2210 were female. A 139-item questionnaire was designed to gather information relative to 13 research hypotheses. The analyses were calculated using Chi-square statistics for test of association, one-way analysis of variance and independent t-tests.
The results of this study indicated that there is a substantial population of weight conscious young women who report serious eating disturbances and who have significant histories of weight loss, weight gain, dieting behavior, and weight and food preoccupation. According to the data the typical adolescent female participating in this study was white, from a middle class family of more than one child. Moreover, they were described as insecure, self-denying, prone to depression, had difficulty within the family and displayed a marked disturbance in body and self-image.
This study, from a practical orientation, indicated a need for increased psycho-educational techniques in junior and senior high schools in order to prevent or lessen the degree of eating disorders. Finally, these results suggested that the school counselor, educators, and social-service professional should continue to be aware of the complicated relationship between adolescence and the manifestation of eating disorders.
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