Exploring the relationship between the body self and personality defence mechanisms in women with bulimia nervosa

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between disorders of the body self and personality defence mechanisms of women with bulimia nervosa. It was hypothesized that women with bulimia nervosa would not form a homogeneous group in terms of the body self disorder and that the extent of this disorder would be significantly related to personality functioning in terms of the defence styles adopted. The hypothesis was investigated with the aid of two questionnaires: the Body Self Questionnaire (Mirucka, 2005) and the Defence Style Questionnaire by Andrews, Singh and Bond (1993). 36 women aged between 15 and 25 years, who fulfilled the DSM IV criteria for bulimia nervosa participated in the study. Conclusions from the study were that: (1) the body self of bulimic women is differentially disordered at three levels: profound, moderate and minimal. (2) the degree to which the body self was found to be disordered is significant in psychological terms as it is related to the defence style adopted by the bulimic personality. The profound and moderate levels of body self disorder related to immature defence styles, while minimal levels of disruption to body self were associated with neurotic and mature styles.

The meaning of the body schema in reaching maturity during late adolescence

“…the mature defence mechanisms stop being the dominating mechanisms and are replaced by the immature mechanisms. This assumption is confirmed by the results of a study conducted on women with bulimia nervosa (Mirucka, 2013). Among people with eating disorders of a bulimic type, along with the raising of interference of the bodily self (that is all representations, including body schema), there was an escalation of immature defence styles such as schizoid fantasy and splitting in particular.…”