Personality functioning in normal weight bulimia

Abstract

This study examined the personality organization and functioning of 57 normal weight bulimic women as assessed by the Rorschach and compared their performance to that of comparable groups of nonpatient and outpatient depressed women. In contrast to nonpatients, the bulimic and depressed groups were similar in their overall level of dysphoric affect, emotional lability and impulsivity, avoidance of affective stimulation, state of emotional overload, relatively poor perceptual accuracy, lower interest in other people, and lack of set coping style. The bulimic group, however, displayed greater egocentricity, narcissism, anger, and negativity and was more underincorporative than the depressed, who were more introspective but also more arbitrary in their perceptions than the bulimics.

Psicodinâmica dos transtornos alimentares: indicadores do Teste das Pirâmides Coloridas de Pfister

“…Em relação ao isolamento social, a literatura indica que mulheres com TAs, em contraposição ao grupo controle, mostram características consistentes de ansiedade e padrões de evitação em seus relacionamentos com outros adultos, corroborando os achados do presente estudo (Broberg, Hjalmers & Nevonen, 2001;Ward, Ramsay, Turnbull, Benedettini & Tresure, 2000;Weisberg, Norman & Herzog, 2006).…”

“…Pacientes com BN também foram comparados com pacientes com depressão e indivíduos sem diagnóstico clínico (Weisberg, Norman, & Herzog, 2006). Esse estudo analisou a personalidade de 57 sujeitos de cada um dos três grupos, por meio do Psicodiagnóstico de Rorschach.…”

Cues in bulimia nervosa: Relationships with personality and treatment outcome

“…Researchers have noted the presence of narcissistic features in bulimic individuals, including pathological concerns with appearance and public presentation (Brewerton et al, 1993;Striegel-Moore et al., 1993), narcissistic self-preoccupation (Ruderman 8e Grace, 1988), and strong egocentric biases (Bauer & Anderson, 1989; Johnson 8c Connors, 1987; Weisberg et al, 1987), as well as intense sensitivity to the opinions and evaluations of others (Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991;Mizes, 1985Mizes, , 1988. Bulimic individuals tend to have very high personal expectations having to do not only with body thinness but also with more general standards for L'success, achievement, virtue, and popularity" (Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991, p. 89).…”

“…There is also evidence that bulimics generally tend to rely on avoidance strategies rather than problem-solving or other adaptive coping strategies (Mayhew & Edelmann, 1989;Mizes, 1988;Shatford & Evans, 1986;Thompson et al, 1987;Weisberg et al, 1987). A closer look at the "negative affect" component indicates that these cues tend to depict social concerns, much as in avoidant personality disorder, such as fears of rejection, public scrutiny, and embarrassment (e.g., "feelings hurt," "being late," -'being embarrassed," "public speaking").…”

Bulimia and "Evidence Based Treatments" Using Imagery

“…During these periods of time (loneliness), the person is left to his own resources for emotional self-regulation, and for maintaining a state of calm [1][2][3][4][5]. A loss of quality in this self-function, can occur when the emotional excitement of panic or fear is experienced, and closely related to the consequent behaviors such as binge eating, or behaviour, oriented to addiction, that come into play, as a response to the discomfort and pain suffered.…”