Stress, coping, and crisis support in eating disorders

Abstract

Objective Recent research has supported the role of stress in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. However, coping and crisis support, important aspects of this stress process, have received little systematic attention. The cognitive‐transactional approach to coping emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the individual and the particular problematic situation and yet most studies investigating coping in eating disorders have failed to measure situation‐specific coping. Method: The present study used semistructured interviews to measure coping and crisis support in response to severe events and/or marked difficulties in 12 women with anorexia nervosa (AN), 21 women with bulimia nervosa (BN), and 21 women without an eating disorder (non‐ED). Results: Women with eating disorders were more likely to use cognitive avoidance or cognitive rumination and were less likely to downplay their problems. In addition, BN subjects were more likely to blame themselves and were less likely to receive crisis support from a core‐tie. Overall, women with eating disorders were less likely to be masterful in response to crises than women without eating disorders. Discussion: It is concluded that women with eating disorders are less effective in their coping than women without eating disorders. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 24: 157–166, 1998.

Disturbed eating attitudes, coping styles, and subjective quality of life in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes

“…These findings parallel findings from other studies in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes but without eating problems [3,20], which have suggested that adolescents with poor adherence to diabetes management tend to use more often avoidant and negative coping strategies. In addition, findings within the eating disorders research literature have demonstrated that, when under stressful situations, young women with bulimia nervosa were more likely to blame themselves and were less likely to receive crisis support from either a partner or another very close person [21]. Women with eating disorders were more likely to use cognitive avoidance or cognitive rumination and were less likely to downplay their problems [21].…”

“…In addition, findings within the eating disorders research literature have demonstrated that, when under stressful situations, young women with bulimia nervosa were more likely to blame themselves and were less likely to receive crisis support from either a partner or another very close person [21]. Women with eating disorders were more likely to use cognitive avoidance or cognitive rumination and were less likely to downplay their problems [21]. Similar findings have been also reported in other studies of young women with eating disorders, where bulimic patients were more likely to use emotional reactions, like self-blaming and escape avoidance, to reduce stress and were less likely to seek emotional support [20,36 -38].…”

“…It is important to identify the relative contributions of important factors that favor the manifestation of eating disorders, because eating disorders are multifactorially influenced phenomena. Researchers have suggested that the use of particular coping strategies in populations without a chronic illness may contribute to the onset and progression of eating pathology [20,21]. They also proposed women with eating disorders being less efficacious in their coping before the onset of their eating disorder than do women without later eating disorders.…”

Thinking Fat and Feeling Blue: Eating Behaviors, Ruminative Coping, and Depressive Symptoms in College Women

“…Women diagnosed with eating disorders have been found to ruminate more than women without eating disorders (Troop et al 1998). In a recent longitudinal study of adolescent women, rumination was also linked to increased depressive and bulimic symptoms over time (Nolen-Hoeksema et al 2007).…”

Understanding the Function of Emotional Eating: Does it Buffer the Stress Response and Help Us Cope

“…To date, much of the literature on eating and coping styles addresses how maladaptive coping strategies are involved in eating disorders, such as Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa (Troop, Holbrey, Trowler, & Treasure, 1994). Stressful life events have been implicated in the onset and maintenance of bulimia nervosa (Shatford & Evans, 1986).…”