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The family environment of normal weight bulimic women
Abstract
Research into the role of the family in the etiology and maintenance of bulimia is scant, and typically concentrates on bulimic-anorexics rather than normal weight bulimics. This study attempts to bridge the gap, and investigates two questions: (1) do normal weight bulimics come from more "enmeshed" families than do normal weight nonbulimics; and (2) what are the bulimic woman's family beliefs regarding food, eating, and weight? Eighty normal weight women between 18 and 26 years were divided into three groups: bulimics (N = 21), nonbulimic clinical controls (N = 25), and nonbulimic normal controls (N = 34). Each woman completed a questionnaire comprised of demographic questions, the Bulimia Test, a measure of family functioning developed by Bloom, and The Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence. Each of the inventories yielded scale scores upon which the three groups were compared. In addition, four of the bulimic women were interviewed in depth about their families. Analyses of variance revealed that bulimics perceive their families as less cohesive, and operating in a less democratic and more laissez-faire fashion than their nonbulimic counterparts. Further, bulimics tend to deny that they may need others, to avoid more symbiotic relationships, and to experience greater engulfment anxiety than the nonbulimics. Questions generated by the investigator concerning the family's beliefs and behaviors around food, eating, and weight were factor analyzed, and the three groups were compared on 5 of the factors. Bulimics were found to perceive their families as using food inappropriately and as not engaging in healthy eating habits more than the nonbulimics. Results suggest that the bulimic women in this sample perceive their families as more "enmeshed" than do the other women, and that the families of bulimics gave their daughters confusing and unhealthy messages about food and eating, which probably remain with them. It is believed that these women lack appropriate coping skills, as a result of their family upbringing, and return to their maladaptive eating patterns in times of stress. Alternative explanations and future directions are offered.
Subject Area
Clinical psychology|Educational psychology|Individual & family studies|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Bonal, Kathleen Ann, "The family environment of normal weight bulimic women" (1990). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9035382.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9035382