Ambivalent attachment in female adolescents: Association with affective instability and eating disorders

Relationships among attachment styles, personality characteristics, and disordered eating

“…The few studies that have found that the insecure-resistant attachment style shows stronger associations with eating pathology than insecureavoidant attachment. [12][13][14] These findings make sense in light of the processes that underlie these different styles. Specifically, individuals with resistant attachment have an increased need for external approval.…”

"You're a whole lot of person"--Understanding the journey through anorexia to recovery: A qualitative study.

“…That I'm a person worthy of loving without being skinny. (Mary, There have been many studies conducted that implicate the mother as a cause of anorexia in daughters (Bruch, 1973;Salzman, 1997;Scourfield, 1995;Woodside et al, 2002), but very little research has talked about fathers, brothers, or boyfriends. All five participants talked a lot about the men in their lives as being heavily implicated as instigators of their anorexia and, conversely, as helping them heal from the disorder.…”

Attachment research in eating disorders

“…She also suggests that early attachment dif culties might be used to identify individuals at risk of developing an eating disorder. Salzman (1997) reports links between a particular attachment pattern and two clinically signi cant correlates, affective instability and eating disorders (anorexia, or anorexia with bulimia). Although not a patient study in the sense used above, all reported cases of eating disorder had been diagnosed by family physicians, and so the ndings are included here for discussion.…”

“…Using the Adolescent Attachment Interview, Salzman (1997) found a strong association between ambivalent attachment and a history of anorexia nervosa. Similarly, Friedberg and Lyddon (1996) found that a preoccupied (ambivalent) stance differentiated eating disordered patients from controls.…”