The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental factors and bulimia nervosa. Subjects were female undergraduate students (classified as bulimic, subclinical bulimic, or normal) and their parents. Daughters and their parents were administered a questionnaire which assesses attitudes about being overweight, radical dieting, and parental pressure to lose weight. The bulimic group, and in some instances the subclinical group, were significantly different in that they reported perceiving themselves to be overweight, engaging in radical means of weight control, and perceiving more parental pressure to radically diet and exercise. The mothers of bulimic students, and in some instances subclinical bulimic students, were significantly different from the mothers of normal students in restricting their daughters' food intake, encouraging their daughters to diet and exercise in order to lose weight, and perceiving their daughters as being overweight. There were no significant differences among the three groups of fathers. Limitations of these findings were discussed as well as implications for further research.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Bulimia and interpersonal relationships: an extension of a longitudinal study.

We examined changes in bulimia in female college students and changes in the relationship between bulimia and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. We extended data collected from a 19-month time period in a previous study to a 31-month time period. Bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and normals showed a leveling off of the previous decline in bulimic symptoms assessed at the 19-month testing. There were strong negative correlations between the Bulimia Test and ratings of satisfaction with male interpersonal relationships, but the correlations were not significant for satisfaction with female relationships.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Parental variables associated with bulimia nervosa.

The present study examined daughter and parent variables associated with bulimia nervosa, including attitudes about body image, eating and dieting histories, and self-esteem. Subjects were female undergraduates (bulimic, subclinical bulimic, and normal) their parents. Daughters differed in bodymass, with bulimics largest, followed by subclinicals, and finally controls. After daughter's bodymass was covaried, daughters differed in the expected direction on eating and body measures and perceived pressure from mothers to lose weight. Bulimic and subclinical daughters also perceived their mothers, more than their fathers, to pressure them to lose weight. After parents' bodymass was controlled, parents did not differ in eating behavior, dieting and weight history, self-esteem, body importance, or body image (self). Parents also did not differ in their perceptions of their daughters' bodies or the pressure exerted upon their daughters to lose weight after daughter's body-mass was covaried.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Eating and body image concerns among obese and average-weight children.

Research compared obese and average-weight children with regard to concerns about being or becoming overweight, history of dieting, concerns about the effects of eating food, and perceived discrepancy between real and ideal body image. Participants included 526 obese and average-weight elementary-age school children to whom questionnaires were administered. Gender (male/female), obesity status (obese/average-weight), and grade level (lower elementary/upper elementary) were considered. Obese children were significantly more likely to engage in dieting behaviors, to express concern about their weight, to restrain their eating, and to exhibit more dissatisfaction with their body image than average-weight children. Girls were more likely to exhibit these behaviors than were boys. These findings suggest the importance of studying the emergence of disordered eating habits in childhood.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Attitudes toward bulimic behaviors in two generations: the role of knowledge, body mass, gender, and bulimic symptomatology.

The perceived commonality and acceptability of symptoms of bulimia, as well as associated variables including gender, generation, knowledge of bulimia, body mass index, and bulimic symptomatology, were assessed. These views were explored in a sample of college students (N = 155 male; N = 173 female) and their parents (N = 194 mothers; N = 163 fathers). Females perceived bulimic symptoms to be more common than males, and students perceived them to be more common than their parents. Students perceived bulimic symptoms to be more acceptable than their parents. Females had higher levels of bulimic symptomatology, particularly daughters. Stepwise simultaneous regression analyses revealed that one's own level of bulimic symptomatology was the primary predictor of one's attitudes toward the commonality and acceptability of bulimic symptoms. Bulimic symptomatology was primarily predicted from perceptions of the acceptability of bulimic symptoms and body mass index. Results suggest that college-age students may be at greater risk for the development of bulimia nervosa because of their greater tolerance of these symptoms; alternatively, people endorsing higher levels of bulimic symptomatology may adjust their attitudes, perceiving bulimic symptoms to be more tolerable, in order to alleviate the dissonance between their attitudes and behaviors.

Adolescent↗