Abstract
Aim of the studyThe results of research aimed at identifying psychological predictors of impulsive and restrictive behaviours in a population of females suffering from anorexia or bulimia.Subject or material and methodsEating Disorder Inventory (EDI) devised by D. Garner. Clinical group:90 Polish females with bulimia and anorexia, A control group: 121 women, who exhibited no eating disorders.ResultsAnalysis of the data gathered as a result of this research demonstrated that the females comprising the clinical sample, who exhibited symptoms of bulimia or anorexia displayed inappropriate levels of all emotional and cognitive characteristics. Statistically significant differences were observed between the clinical and control subjects in terms of the variables investigated in the study.DiscussionThe data analysis revealed that low interoceptive awareness proved to be a significant predictor of impulsive and restrictive behaviours in anorexia and bulimia. Perfectionism and body dissatisfaction were found to be significant determinants of restrictive behaviours. Where as, such variables as a tendency towards bulimia and body dissatisfaction emerged as predictive factors for the symptoms of bulimia and bulimia type anorexia.ConclusionsPossibility that a psychological diagnosis of the emotional and cognitive characteristics displayed by females diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia nervosa is likely to facilitate the process of detecting the symptoms which are typical of the particular types of eating disorders, and thus it is a tool that can be useful at the initial stage of treatment, which involves establishing appropriate psychological interventions aimed at eliminating impulsive and restrictive behaviours developed in patients diagnosed with the aforementioned eating disorders
Highlights
The two aforementioned patterns of behaviour have certain common characteristics which include cognitive dysfunctions such as preoccupation with food, as well as a powerful impact of body weight and the body mass index BMI on self-assessment; fear of gaining weight, which is an emotional aspect of anorexia and bulimia nervosa; along with behavioral symptoms such as a tendency to engage in compensatory behaviours, especially in case of binge eating/purging type of anorexia, referred to as bulimia-type anorexia nervosa
The results of research aimed at identifying psychological predictors of impulsive and restrictive behaviours in a population of females suffering from anorexia or bulimia nervosa 31 ist) personality disorders, and they experience interpersonal difficulties [4, 12, 17]
Analysis of the data obtained as a result of the current research revealed that three of the psychological characteristics describing individuals diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia nervosa, investigated in the present study, seem to be most likely to predict impulsive and restrictive behaviours in the aforementioned group of patients
Summary
The main aim of this paper is to report the results of research conducted by the present author, and to present the findings and conclusions concerning distinctive emotional and amounts of food in a short amount of time, which are referred to as bulimic cycles, commonly understood to mean uncontrollable and compulsive binge eating, followed by recurrent compensatory behaviours aimed at reducing body weight and eliminating the consequences of overeating, which include self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other stimulants in order to get rid of the eaten food and to lose unwanted weight. Exploration of the subject literature shows that there are three major theoretical paradigms concerning the predictive factors for eating disorders, and psychological mechanisms explaining their symptomatology. The aforementioned eating disorders are proved to develop as a result of disturbances in the body self structure and the person’s body experience [2]
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