Bulimia: A descriptive survey of 316 cases

Abstract

A survey of 376 women who met the DSM III criteria for bulimia is presented. The purpose of the survey is to provide information regarding the demographics of this population, the total extent of food‐related behavior and basic indices of psychiatric symptoms. The results indicate that the typical bulimic surveyed was a single,Caucasian woman in her early 20's who was well educated and of average weight for her height. Most of the women were binge eating and using evacuation techniques such as self‐induced vomiting on a daily to more than daily basis and had engaged in this behavior for 51/2 years. Despite the severity of the disturbed eating behavior, the sample was relatively symptom free on standard indices of psychiatric symptoms when compared to other psychiatric populations.

The clinical characteristics of bulimic women

“…It is obvious that our findings to date are consistent with those reported by other researchers, even though Johnson et al (1982) and Fairburn and Cooper (1982) were exclusively postal studies in nature. Although in terms of family circumstances, populations differ: e.g., Pyle et al (1981) has a higher proportion of intact parental marriages and a larger family size, which probably results from the higher proportion of Catholics in his study.…”

The clinical characteristics of bulimic women

“…It is obvious that our findings to date are consistent with those reported by other researchers, even though Johnson et al (1982) and Fairburn and Cooper (1982) were exclusively postal studies in nature. Although in terms of family circumstances, populations differ: e.g., Pyle et al (1981) has a higher proportion of intact parental marriages and a larger family size, which probably results from the higher proportion of Catholics in his study.…”

Depressive Thought Content Among Female College Students With Bulimia

“…The indication that the bulimics in this study were depressed is consistent with previous research (Gandour, 1984;Johnson, Stuckey, Lewis, & Schwartz, 1982;Russell, 1979). The finding that body image distortion, self-dislike, and self-blame were severe in both studies suggests that these are specific idiosyncratic thoughts often found in young college women with bulimia.…”

Severity of bulimia: Relationship with depression and other psychopathology

“…The results of this study replicate and extend the research of earlier studies concerning the psychopathology associated with bulimia (Hatsukami et al, 1982;Johnson et al, 1983;Katzman & Wolchik, 1984;Pyle et al, 1981;Williamson et al, 1985). The most important new information provided by this investigation was that the psychopathology identified in earlier reports is primarily associated with bulimics who purge frequently, i.e., almost every day.…”

The clinical characteristics of bulimic women

“…It is obvious that our findings to date are consistent with those reported by other researchers, even though Johnson et al (1982) and Fairburn and Cooper (1982) were exclusively postal studies in nature. Although in terms of family circumstances, populations differ: e.g., Pyle et al (1981) has a higher proportion of intact parental marriages and a larger family size, which probably results from the higher proportion of Catholics in his study.…”

Depressive Thought Content Among Female College Students With Bulimia

“…The indication that the bulimics in this study were depressed is consistent with previous research (Gandour, 1984;Johnson, Stuckey, Lewis, & Schwartz, 1982;Russell, 1979). The finding that body image distortion, self-dislike, and self-blame were severe in both studies suggests that these are specific idiosyncratic thoughts often found in young college women with bulimia.…”

Severity of bulimia: Relationship with depression and other psychopathology

“…The results of this study replicate and extend the research of earlier studies concerning the psychopathology associated with bulimia (Hatsukami et al, 1982;Johnson et al, 1983;Katzman & Wolchik, 1984;Pyle et al, 1981;Williamson et al, 1985). The most important new information provided by this investigation was that the psychopathology identified in earlier reports is primarily associated with bulimics who purge frequently, i.e., almost every day.…”

The clinical characteristics of bulimic women

“…It is obvious that our findings to date are consistent with those reported by other researchers, even though Johnson et al (1982) and Fairburn and Cooper (1982) were exclusively postal studies in nature. Although in terms of family circumstances, populations differ: e.g., Pyle et al (1981) has a higher proportion of intact parental marriages and a larger family size, which probably results from the higher proportion of Catholics in his study.…”

Depressive Thought Content Among Female College Students With Bulimia

“…The indication that the bulimics in this study were depressed is consistent with previous research (Gandour, 1984;Johnson, Stuckey, Lewis, & Schwartz, 1982;Russell, 1979). The finding that body image distortion, self-dislike, and self-blame were severe in both studies suggests that these are specific idiosyncratic thoughts often found in young college women with bulimia.…”

Severity of bulimia: Relationship with depression and other psychopathology

“…The results of this study replicate and extend the research of earlier studies concerning the psychopathology associated with bulimia (Hatsukami et al, 1982;Johnson et al, 1983;Katzman & Wolchik, 1984;Pyle et al, 1981;Williamson et al, 1985). The most important new information provided by this investigation was that the psychopathology identified in earlier reports is primarily associated with bulimics who purge frequently, i.e., almost every day.…”