Examines facts about eating disorders, which typically affect females in their teens, discussing the causes of anorexia and bulimia, describing their effects on the body, and explaining available treatment. Though eating disorders are very serious and potentially fatal, they are treatable. Treatment includes physician evaluation, possible…

Objective: Drawing from stress-vulnerability and trauma theory (e.g., Rorty & Yager, 1996), this paper presents a model of associations among child emotional abuse (CEA), alexithymia, general distress (GD), and disordered eating (DE). This study extended previous research on psychological outcomes of child physical and sexual abuse to explore…

The prevalence of most adult psychiatric disorders varies across racial/ethnic groups and has important implications for prevention and intervention efforts. Research on racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and disorders in adolescents has been less consistent or generally lacking. The current…

This article discusses issues related to body image in adolescents, explaining what school practitioners can do to encourage lifelong healthy habits that enhance body image. Body image is the picture of physical self carried in the mind's eye. This impression can have little resemblance to how a teen actually looks. Body image culturalization is…

Examined eating attitudes, body satisfaction, reasons for exercise, and psychological wellbeing among female nonathletes and college athletes. Data from participant surveys revealed less eating disorder symptomatology and more healthy psychological functioning among athletes, suggesting that female athletic involvement could be associated with…

Examined relationship between acculturation and eating-disorder symptoms in normative samples of 920 adolescents girls of high school age. Found that acculturation was positively associated with structured-interview defined partial syndrome eating disorders in Hispanic girls, but not in Asian or European-American girls. There was no relation…

The results of several studies have established the validity of the SCOFF questionnaire (a 5-question screening tool for eating disorders), but researchers need to explore further replicability using the US version in the graduate school population. In this study, the authors asked 335 graduate students attending the Northwestern student health…

Although sororities are often perceived as contributing to eating-disordered behavior, limited research has investigated eating disorders in sorority members. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of a highly interactive cognitive dissonance prevention program in reducing empirically supported risk factors in sorority members.…

This paper discusses the use of Rational Recovery (RR) as a counseling technique in treating people who feel fat, particularly women. Fatness is viewed as a philosophy, not a physical condition. Cultural influences defining and stressing ideal femininity come down hard on women whose physiques or appearances do not measure up. RR gives people…

The purpose of this publication is to provide discussion of some of the most difficult and controversial issues surrounding body image and eating disorders, specifically, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It includes contributions from a number of nationally and internationally recognized clinicians and researchers in the field. It also…

Two experiments involving 143 and 1,480 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation found that persons with profound mental retardation were more likely to evince sterotypies or self-injury (SIB) compared to their severely impaired counterparts. Those with stereotypies were more likely to present with autism, organicity, and eating…

First- and second-year findings of a survey of the development of disordered eating in 80 fourth- and fifth-grade girls and 85 boys are presented. Results, especially findings about body mass index and pubertal development, emphasize gender differences and the importance of identifying early risk factors for eating disorders. (SLD)

Discusses the role of families and schools in preventing eating disorders in children and adolescents, explaining that eating disorders are not just about food, but rather a misuse of food to resolve emotional problems; describing various primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention methods; and offering strategies for educators (activism and…

Objective: The aims of the study were to examine weight concerns, dieting and eating behaviours in a group of Israeli-Arab schoolgirls as compared with Israeli-Jewish schoolgirls, as well as to investigate the reliability of the Arabic (Palestinian) version of the eating disorder inventory-2 (EDI-2). Method: The sample consisted of 2548 Israeli…

Maladaptive eating behaviors are a growing phenomenon which has captured the interest of not only health and psychology professionals, but also the general public. This paper examines the various types of treatment and counseling approaches for treating anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Definitions for both disorders are provided, followed by…