This study investigated the parameters of eating behavior in subjects meeting the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa (BN). Twenty BN and 24 female comparison (FC) subjects monitored hourly over a number of consecutive days their food intake, mood, hunger, social circumstances, and experiences of unpleasant events. Compared with FC subjects, BN subjects reported more positive moods relative to their typical moods in the hour prior to consuming a meal. Within the BN group, subjects reported more negative moods in the hour prior to a binge episode compared with their moods prior to consuming a snack or meal. The BN subjects were also calorie deprived in the hour prior to a binge episode relative to FC subjects at an equivalent time of the day. These results are discussed within the framework of restraint theory.
The relation between cognitive distortion and depression, found in adult affective disorders, has not previously been demonstrated in childhood affective disorders. Therefore, a Cognitive Bias Questionnaire for Children (CBQC) was developed to examine this relation in a sample of 39 psychiatrically disturbed children and adolescents. The depressed-distorted (DD) scale from the CBQC was significantly correlated with psychiatric and self-reported ratings of depression and could significantly discriminate affective from non-affective disorders. These results are discussed in terms of their limitations and in terms of other evidence suggesting that child, adolescent, and adult depressives share similar cognitive attributes.
Previous body image studies have suggested that dieting‐disordered patients (anorexia and bulimia nervosa) differ from normal subjects in their estimation of body size and desired body shape. It was hypothesized that overconcern with body shape in these patients would be reflected in their visual analyses of specific parts of their bodies. This hypothesis was investigated using a system that combines an infrared light source, video camera, dedicated microprocessor, and computer to monitor eye‐gaze direction at 50 times per second. Fifteen dieting‐disordered patients and 10 control subjects were examined in this way while simultaneously being shown a picture of themselves on a TV screen. Preliminary results suggest that the patients tend to focus on those parts of their body with which they are dissatisfied, while normal subjects scan their whole body shape. Objective assessment of areas of specific bodily concern among dieting‐disordered patients, as well as the examination of voluntary and involuntary processing of self‐referential stimuli, is offered by the use of such technology.
SynopsisPreviously employed techniques for the measurement of body image are briefly described, with a short consideration of methodological or procedural limitations associated with each technique. A new procedure is described which employs a simple modification to a standard video camera to produce an image which appears from 20% thinner to 40% fatter than the actual person, without other distortion of the image. Reliability and preliminary validity data for the new procedure are presented.
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