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Biomedical subjects

A J Ruderman

Publications and source records attributed to A J Ruderman.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Psychological characteristics of dieters and bulimics.

Two studies examined the continuum and discontinuity models of the relation between dieting and bulimia nervosa. In Study 1, 21 dieters, 19 bulimics, and 33 nondieting controls were compared on 24 measures. Multivariate analyses revealed that each of the groups differed significantly from the other two. Univariate analyses found 18 significant differences between bulimics and dieters and 1 significant difference between dieters and controls. In Study 2, 86 subjects completed measures of psychological functioning, dieting, and bulimia nervosa. On the basis of regression analyses using factor scores from the psychological variables as predictors, high scores on a psychopathology factor and low scores on a defensiveness factor predicted both bulimia and dieting. Low self-concept scores also predicted bulimia. These data indicate that both continuity and discontinuity characterize the relation between dieting and bulimia.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Bulimics and restrained eaters: a personality comparison.

This study compared the psychological characteristics of restrained eaters and bulimics. One hundred and thirty six female undergraduates completed the Restraint Scale, the Bulimia Test, the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Scale, a borderline personality disorder scale, the Body Cathexis Scale, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale which yields six measures of self-esteem (physical self, moral-ethical self, personal self, family self, social self, and total self-esteem) and four measures of psychopathology (general maladjustment, psychosis, personality disorder, and neurosis). Stepwise regression analyses were done using restraint and bulimia as dependent measures and the other measures as predictor variables. Both the regression equation for bulimia and the one for restraint included physical self-esteem and narcissism as predictor variables. As a third variable, general maladjustment was entered in the bulimia equation and moral self-esteem in the restraint equation. The results indicate that both bulimics and restrained eaters are dissatisfied with their bodies and have narcissistic qualities. However, bulimics show an element of psychopathology which restrained eaters do not and restrained eaters perceive themselves as morally virtuous, whereas bulimics do not.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Restraint, bulimia, and psychopathology.

This study investigated the similarities between bulimia and dietary restraint by examining how these variables related to each other as well as to two standardized measures of psychopathology. Female college students completed the restraint scale (which consists of a weight fluctuation (WF) and a concern with dieting (CD) factor), a bulimia scale (BULIT), a narcissism scale (NPDS), and a maldajustment scale (Mt). Bulimia was significantly correlated with restraint and each of its factors; however, it was most strongly related to the CD factor. When WF was controlled, bulimia and CD were significantly correlated, whereas when CD was controlled, bulimia and WF were not related. However, despite their strong relation with each other, bulimia and CD did not show similar patterns of relations with narcissism and maladjustment. Bulimia was significantly related to maladjustment when narcissism was controlled. In contrast, CD was significantly related to narcissism when maladjustment was controlled. In summary, bulimia and the CD factor of restraint appear to be overlapping constructs; however, they are associated with different types of psychopathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The development of a restrained drinking scale: a test of the abstinence violation effect among alcohol users.

This article reports the development of a Restrained Drinking Scale (RDS) and tests of the "abstinence violation" (AV) hypothesis. Study 1, a psychometic evaluation of the RDS, found that the scale exhibited substantial internal reliability (.81) and scores conformed closely to a normal distribution. Study 2 compared the alcohol consumption of restrained and unrestrained drinkers in a wine tasting test, with half of each group receiving an alcohol preload. Contrary to the AV hypothesis, the preload did not influence drinking. Instead, restrained drinkers drank more than unrestrained drinkers. Since tasting wines at school may have represented a violation of restraint in itself, and led restrained drinkers to overindulge, study 3 was done to test the abstinence violation hypothesis in a paradigm not requiring alcohol consumption. Restrained and unrestrained drinkers chose between rating wines or sodas, with half receiving an alcohol preload. Restrained drinkers chose wine less often after the preload than without it. Unrestrained drinkers' choices were not effected by the preload. A "slip" in control in itself, does not appear sufficient to elicit binge-drinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Obesity, anxiety, and food consumption.

This study examined the relation between level of anxiety (relaxation, low, and high) and food consumption among obese and normal weight individuals. Obese individuals ate significantly less when highly anxious than when mildly anxious. Their consumption when relaxed was at an intermediate level. Normal weight people ate similar amounts at all levels of anxiety. These data were not consistent with the prediction of psychosomatic theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1957) that obese people eat more when anxious than calm. The findings were partially consistent with Robbins and Fray's (1980) hypothesis that for obese people there is a curvilinear relation between anxiety and eating with maximum food consumption occurring at moderate levels of anxiety. The data in this study suggest that level of anxiety is an important factor to consider in understanding the influence of anxiety on eating behavior.

Adult↗