Of all psychiatric disorders, anorexia nervosa is among the most deadly. The Eating Disorders Program at Menniger Clinic has pioneered the development of comprehensive diagnostic and treatment programs for this population. This article follows a 7-grade girl through her education and treatment at Menniger's Southard School. (Author/MKA)

The factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was studied with a subsample of 93 bulimic women from a total sample of 110 women with eating disorders. Results suggested that the BDI appears to assess a unidimensional construct in patients with eating disorders. (SLD)

Studied personality, temperament, and behavioral factors as predictors of the development of eating disorders in 726 girls and 698 boys in junior high school when the 3-to-4-year study began. Discusses negative affect/attitudes as a generalized psychopathology vulnerability factor for disordered eating. (SLD)

We examined the use of noncontingent reinforcement to decrease self-injury and increase bite acceptance in a child who exhibited food refusal. First, a brief functional analysis suggested that self-injury was maintained by escape from food presentation. Next, we evaluated an intervention that involved noncontingent access to a video during feeding…

Objective: Outbreak investigations are challenging in a cross-cultural context, and outbreaks of psychiatric disease are rare in any community. We investigated a cluster of unexplained debilitating illness among Amish girls. Method: We reviewed the medical records of cases, consulted with health care providers, performed active case finding,…

This study examined emotion-identification skills in 19 adolescent girls (M age = 16 years, 8 months) diagnosed with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV], American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnosis of bulimia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified in the bulimic spectrum, 19 age-matched girls…

To examine the eating-related cognitions and behaviors of college-age women who had experienced parental death, parental divorce, or neither loss condition, we recruited 48 women from science and social science departments at a state university in the Southeast. All participants completed the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MAC) and the Bulimia…

The aims of the present review are to apply a recent risk factor approach (H. C. Kraemer et al., 1997) to putative risk factors for eating disorders, to order these along a timeline, and to deduce general taxonomic questions. Putative risk factors were classified according to risk factor type, outcome (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa,…

Binge eating is a common problem associated with distress and dysfunction. Mindfulness-based interventions are attracting increasing attention, and the recent empirical literature suggests that they may be effective for a variety of disorders. Current theories about the etiology and maintenance of binge eating suggest that mindfulness training may…

Pica is defined as the compulsive, recurrent consumption of nonnutritive items. Pica behavior often occurs in individuals with developmental disabilities; therefore, education and clinical professionals may be required to participate in various aspects of management, including identification, assessment, and treatment. This article will discuss…

This study explored the weight management practices, rates overweight and obesity, perceptions of body weight, and weight management goals in a large sample (N = 467) of Hispanic (n = 421) and Anglo (n = 46) female college students on the U.S.-Mexico border. Women self-reported their height and weight, weight perceptions, and weight management…

On the basis of predictions from social comparison theory (L. Festinger, 1954) and informed by findings from the social comparison and eating disorder literatures, hypotheses were tested regarding the social comparison behaviors of women with eating disorder symptoms and their asymptomatic peers. Results indicated differentiating social-cognitive…

This paper is located in a larger study of girls' empowerment within the everyday context of school cultures. While much feminist research has focused on the "perils" of feminine adolescence, we are interested in how girls successfully navigate the transition from girlhood to adult womanhood. Thus the sample for this paper includes girls who…

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…

This paper presents a detailed theoretical discussion of destructive narcissism in relation to Freud and Rosenfeld and later theorists. In destructive narcissism, the destructiveness is itself idealised and overrides "the vital functions which serve the purpose of self-preservation" (Freud, S., 1914, "On narcissism" S.E. 14: 87)--a feature which…