The prevalence and psychological correlates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating among 15-year-old students: a controlled epidemiological study
✍ Scribed by Jan H. Rosenvinge; Jorunn Sundgot Borgen; Runi Börresen
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 91 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-4133
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The present study reports on the prevalence of adolescent anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders. Also, the hypothesis by Slade (1982) suggesting perfectionism' and general dissatisfaction' as setting conditions for eating disorders was tested. A total of 678 15-year-old adolescents were screened, and those who scored above 10 on the drive for thinness' subscale on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) were interviewed for suspected eating disorders. A gender-and age-matched control group of low scores were also clinically interviewed. The interviewers were blind to whether individuals were suspected of having eating disorders or not. The Setting Conditions for Anorexia Nervosa Scale (SCANS) was used to test the setting condition hypothesis. Other variables included were the EDI subscales Bulimia' and Body dissatisfaction'. Weight was calculated using the Body Mass Index. For the total material, we found 1.0 per cent with a binge eating disorder, 0.7 per cent with bulimia nervosa, 0.3 per cent with a bulimic subtype of anorexia nervosa and 0.7 per cent with subclinical bulimia nervosa. All subjects were girls. In addition, 3.5 per cent were considered at risk', of whom we identi®ed 22 girls (3.2 per cent) and two boys (0.3 per cent). High scores on perfectionism' were unrelated to the presence of eating disorders. Controlling for body dissatisfaction', general dissatisfaction', on the other hand, was related to eating disorders and an at-risk' condition. The prevalence ®gures in this age cohort equal those for older age groups. The weak support to the setting condition hypothesis may point to an inadequate instrument and not necessarily to a theoretically blind alley.