Relationship between Disturbed Eating Behavior and Other Psychosomatic Symptoms in Adolescents

Objectives: The study explored associations between body weight, psychiatric disorders and body image in a nonclinical sample of female adolescents. It was also investigated whether complaints of negative body image could be an indicator of psychiatric morbidity. Methods: A sample of 136 Swiss female high school students, 15–20 years of age, initially had weight, height and body image (FBeK questionnaire) assessed and were screened for psychiatric morbidity (SSQ). Subsequently, they were assessed using the DIA-X psychiatric interview which generates DSM-IV diagnoses. Univariate, multivariate, regressive and canonical correlation analyses were performed. Results: Being overweight was significantly correlated with a more negative body image (attractiveness/self-confidence). There were also significant correlations between psychiatric diagnoses and unfavorable body image (3 of the 4 FBeK scales). Besides having a more disturbed body image, overweight subjects also evidenced more psychiatric morbidity. The multiple regression analysis revealed that psychiatric disorders had the greatest association with negative body image, followed by age and weight. The canonical correlation indicated that body image, psychiatric disorder, age and weight clearly correlated with one another (R_xy = 0.43). Conclusion: Psychosomatic research should be more concerned about issues of obesity and concurrent psychiatric morbidity and aim to develop preventative as well as therapeutic treatment methods. Physicians should be aware of the associations between obesity, negative body image and psychiatric morbidity.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between Body Weight, Psychiatric Disorders and Body Image in Female Adolescents

Buddeberg-Fischer¹,

Klaghofer²,

Reed³

1999

“…In addition, patients who undergo treatment after a long period of illness are very difficult to treat and the outcome is often poor [2]. Although many clinicians have stressed the importance of developing programs which aim at reducing risk factors and identifying ‘subjects at risk’ early [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9], primary and secondary prevention has received little attention in the literature to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preventive Intervention Program in Adolescent Schoolgirls:A Longitudin al Study

Santonastaso

Zanetti

Ferrara

et al. 1999

Background: To explore the impact of a prevention program on the eating and body attitudes of a sample of adolescent schoolgirls. Methods: The program involved lessons and group discussions of general adolescent problems and eating disorders. A total of 254 16-year-old schoolgirls were evaluated, of whom 154 participated in the program and a further 154 subjects formed the control group. Variations in weight, Eating Attitudes Test and Eating Disorders Inventory at a 1-year follow-up were compared for the two groups. Results: Among high-risk subjects, no significant differences were found between the prevention and the control group. The preventive program appeared to reduce significantly body dissatisfaction and to decrease the risk of bulimic attitudes in low-risk subjects. Conclusions: Providing schoolgirls with the correct information about eating disorders did not encourage unhealthy attitudes to eating and weight regulation practices. However, for high-risk subjects more intensive and specific intervention may be required, for which further research is needed.

“…This might be due to their significantly more negative connotation of weeping compared to the other two groups. These results mirror the introvert and restrictive character of patients with anorexia nervosa [33]. Also, in contrast to healthy persons who use crying as a healing experience which is described as a 'shift from arousal to recovery' [34], anorexic and bulimic patients may use their symptomatology in order to deal with inner tensions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

The Weeping Behavior in Anorexic and Bulimic Females

Mangweth

Kemmler

Ebner

et al. 1999

The weeping behavior in anorexic and bulimic females Mangweth, B.; Kemmler, G.; Ehner, C.; de Col, C.; Kinzl, J.; Biebl, W.; Vingerhoets, A.J.J.M. Published in: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Document version:Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 1999Link to publication Citation for published version (APA):Mangweth, B., Kemmler, G., Ehner, C., de Col, C., Kinzl, J., Biebl, W., & Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M. (1999). The weeping behavior in anorexic and bulimic females. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 68(6), 319-324. General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research -You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain -You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Abstract Background:The aim of the study was to examine the proneness, the functions and triggering situations of weeping in anorexic and bulimic women. Methods: Participants were 36 anorexic and 31 bulimic female patients and 56 age-matched female controls. All women completed the Questionnaire on Adult Crying. We limited our study to results on 'crying proneness', 'functions of crying' and 'determining factors of crying'. Results: Bulimic patients reported to have cried significantly more often in the last 4 weeks, to be more likely to cry in situations of distress and to have used weeping significantly more often as a manipulative behavior than control women. Anorexic patients rated their tendency to cry significantly lower and experienced weeping as significantly more negative than controls. Conclusions: Compared to control women, anorexic patients associated weeping with negative feelings as opposed to bulimic patients who appeared to use weeping on an intentional basis. These deviations from control women seem to mirror the introvert character of anorexic patients and the extrovert impulsive personality of patients with bulimia nervosa, respectively.