Mutuality,Self-Silencing,and Disordered Eating in College Women

Abstract

The current study examined patterns of association among mutuality, self-silencing, and disordered eating in an ethnically diverse sample of college women (N = 149). Partner mutuality and overall self-silencing were negatively correlated and together were associated with six disordered eating indices. All four self-silencing subscales were associated with disordered eating patterns. For example, external self-perception was associated with drive for thinness, bulimia, body dissatisfaction, and interoceptive awareness. Implications of the findings for college counselors are discussed.     

Eating Disorders: Explanatory Variables in Caucasian and Hispanic College Women

The authors explored Hispanic and Caucasian college women's (N = 264) behavioral and attitudinal symptoms of eating disorders after controlling for body mass index and internalization of the thinness ideal, as well as the roles of ethnicity and ethnic identity in symptomatology. Correlational analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and regression analysis suggested more similarities than differences between Hispanic and Caucasian college women in terms of eating disorders.     

Drive for Thinness and Fear of Fat Among College Women: Implications for Practice and Assessment

College women are at particular risk for developing eating disorders and related eating and body image concerns. The purpose of this article is to explore how both drive for thinness and fear of fat may be addressed in counseling with college women. Characteristics of drive for thinness and fear of fat as they relate to the development of eating disorders are addressed, and implications for college counseling and assessment of these constructs are presented.     

Chapter 4 Bulimia:

This paper presents a sociocultural analysis of the present epidemic of bulimia on college campuses. It is suggested that the psychological stresses underlying bulimia derive from a historical change in the social demands and expections contronting women. Weight control and the obsessive drive for thinness are seen as the symptomatic efforts to manage these stresses and achieve some measure of control. The social dynamics of bulimia are also analyzed, particularly the role of imitation and social learning in the spread of the symptom, as well as the response of others to bulimic symptomatology. Finally, it is suggested that bringing and vomiting have become almost a normal social practice in certain group situations, raising the possibility that the behavior has become a kind of ritual activity. The social implications of this interpretation are discussed.     

Chapter 6 Is It True Eating Makes You Feel Better?:

The present study examined the relation between stress and eating in 25 bulimic women and 33 controls. Participants self-monitored calories consumed and stress levels over 5 days corresponding to the time just before and just after their psychology midtream exam. For both groups stress was not reduced in after eating. Suprisingly, for the bulimic group, the greatest reduction in stress occurred just prior to eating. These results are not consistent with current stress/coping models of bulimia which hypothesize the binge eating serves as a method of stress reduction and suggest that further evaluation on the relationship between stress and eating are needed.     

Body dissatisfaction,drive for thinness,and self‐esteem in African American college females

Ninety‐five African American undergraduate females who were attending three predominately Caucasian universities were evaluated for body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness as well as on four dimensions of self‐concept (physical, social, academic, and personal competence). The participants were largely middle class, with 78% reporting parental education levels between high school to college graduation. Results indicated body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness at levels commensurate with Caucasian samples. A hierarchial multiple regression found a combination of physical self‐concept, drive for thinness, and personal competence to be highly predictive of body dissatisfaction in this sample. Using this model, an effective psychosocial prevention program that focused on reduction of risk factors (e.g., drive for thinness) and enhancement of protective factors (e.g., satisfaction with physical appearance and abilities, personal efficacy) would be advantageous. It is suggested that prevention programming with African American women occur within a cultural context that may provide further support. That is, it may be beneficial to facilitate a critical evaluation of current social mores, encourage personal value clarification, and enhance individual resilience within a context of cultural pride. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The role of depression and dissociation in the relationship between childhood trauma and bulimic symptoms among ethnically diverse female undergraduates

OBJECTIVE: The goals of this study were to examine the role of dissociation and depression as possible mediators of the relationship between several forms of childhood trauma and bulimic symptomatology and to explore potential ethnic differences in these relationships. METHOD: Four hundred seventeen female undergraduates participated in this cross-sectional study. They completed measures of dissociative, depressive, and bulimic symptoms, and childhood trauma. Experiences of multiple forms of childhood trauma were measured, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. However, only emotional abuse was correlated with bulimic symptoms at p<.01. Therefore, other forms of trauma were excluded from the analyses to control for Type I error. RESULTS: Dissociation was not associated with emotional abuse after controlling for depression; therefore, tests of dissociation as a mediator were discontinued. Depression was significantly associated with emotional abuse after controlling for dissociation. Emotional abuse was significantly associated with bulimia. Finally, emotional abuse and depression together were significantly associated with bulimia after controlling for dissociation. However, emotional abuse became nonsignificant when entered with depression, indicating that depression mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and bulimic symptoms. There were no ethnic differences in this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that among women who have experienced childhood emotional abuse, depression is more strongly associated with unhealthy eating behaviors than is dissociation. Results also suggest that emotional abuse is a form of childhood trauma particularly relevant to bulimia.     

Chapter 12 Impact of the College Environment on Bulimic Women

A survey was conducted of 20 bulimic women, aged 18-33 who were in a residential treatment program for eating disorders. All had attended college within the past 5 years. Information was gathered through interviews and questionnaires. The major finding was that for this sample, the women felt that the college environment contributed directly to the development and/or exacerbation of their bulimia. Weight gain as freshman, unstructured environments, separation factors. Comparisons between the college and therpeutic environments were drawn with potential directions for change.     

Making Sense of Eating Disorders in Schools

Over the last two decades we have witnessed an emerging set of conditions in schools which render them contexts replete with social messages about the body, health, and self. Research has suggested that both the formal and informal contexts of education are heavily imbued with a “culture of healthism” which places moral obligation and blame on individuals for their health/problem. In this paper we explore the ways in which young women with eating disorders constructed their identities within and against the various “health” discourses now found within schools. Data is presented from life history interviews with young women who have been diagnosed with anorexia and/or bulimia who were resident at a leading centre for the treatment of eating disorders in the UK. The experiences of the young women in the study point towards the ways in which schools, despite their best intentions, are implicated in constructing contexts which are inimical to the well-being of young women who have been diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia and perhaps others who are making sense of their bodies, health, and selves in these cultures.     

Chapter 5 Etiological,Developmental and Treatment Considerations for Bulimia

Bulimia is a multidetermined, psychosomatic disorder in which biological, familial, personality, and sociocultural factors combine to predispose the development of symptoms. We suggest that bulimia represents a common cluster a symptoms for a heterogeneous population, primarily young women, who range along a developmental continuum of personality adjustment. Thus, college students with identical eating symptoms (e.g. bingeing and purging twice a week) may have very different levels of adaptation and require different degrees of intervention. Treatment considerations for the spectrum of bulimic patients are discussed.     

新时期中国女性小说中的女权意识

新时期中国女性小说的创作,有着明显的女权意识,她们以女性的热忱和强烈的自我意识,表达着共同的主题——对男性、男权社会的失望和反抗以及弘扬女性主体意识的女权思想。从男女两性的不平等、婚姻家庭的羁绊、传统观念的束缚以及自我价值的肯定和奋斗的艰辛等方面来解读新时期女性文学创作中的女权意识,使“女权意识”不仅是一面旗帜,而且成为文学、社会向着完美的“双性和谐”的方向发展的强大内驱力。     

庄子的平等思想对女性学走出现代困境的意义

现代的女性学把男女关系理解为相互对立和竞争的关系,试图通过竞争达到跟男性完全平等的地位,如在诸多稀少资源的分配中获得平等的机遇和利益。这样,女性的社会地位虽然得到了提高,但女性的生活也出现了许多新问题,说明女性学在现代并未构建出男女关系的理想模式,而是陷入到了一种困境之中。而庄子的平等思想为女性学的发展提供了出路。根据庄子的思想体系,男女本来就是平等和有机统一的,男女之间可以通过交互作用和协调达到理想状态。从统一体世界观的角度看,人与宇宙万物是有机统一的,而且任何一个事物都不能脱离对立面而存在,因而在男女的相互关系中,男性的存在是女性存在的根据,而女性的存在也是男性存在的根据。万物的生生不息根源于阴阳的相互交融,而人类的繁荣则根源于男女的感应和相爱。庄子的平等理论为新的男女平等观提供了思想基础,为更人性化的女性学体系的建立提供了新的视点。     

Own Group Oppression, Other Group Oppression, and Perspective Taking

This survey research examined the relationship of awareness of own versus awareness of other group oppression across sexism, racism, and homonegativity, by including perspective taking (PT) as a moderator. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that awareness of sexism (own group oppression) predicted awareness of racism (other group oppression) in a sample of 116 European American females (Study 1), whereas awareness of racism (own group oppression) did not predict awareness of homonegativity (other group oppression) in a sample of 113 U.S. racial minorities (Study 2). High PT, compared to low PT, did not predict a stronger relationship between awareness of own and awareness of other group oppression. Post-hoc speculation on the role of PT in intergroup relations and implications for research and counseling are discussed.     

Body Dissatisfaction in College Women: Identification of Risk and Protective Factors to Guide College Counseling Practices

This study attempted to identify risk factors that are implicated in the body dissatisfaction of college women and the factors that may facilitate effective prevention and treatment efforts. Data collected from 215 female college students indicated that participants with (a) greater physical self‐concept, (b) less drive for thinness, and (c) greater social self‐esteem manifested less body dissatisfaction.     

One Size Does Not Fit All,Or How I Learned to Stop Dieting and Love the Body

The oppressiveness of current ideals concerning female body size and shape in Euro-American culture has been well documented. Prevalent ideals of thinness are physiologically difficult for many women to achieve, and available techniques for reducing are greater health risks than fatness. Yet the number of women who attempt to reduce their bodies continues to increase. This essay analyzes America's obsession with thinness and its meanings for women's bodies and body identity. A summary of research challenging conventional beliefs about fatness is presented, followed by an exploration of the special meanings of fatness and slenderness for women in a culture that evaluates women on the basis of their appearance. The mind-body dualism experienced by women, especially fat women, in this environment is then discussed. An argument is made for rejecting the popular but unachievable and arbitrary standards of thinness and for abandoning the separation of mind and body inherent in the obsession with weight loss.     

Child sexual abuse and bulimic symptomatology: relevance of specific abuse variables

OBJECTIVE: This study examined specific aspects of child sexual abuse in relation to symptom severity among hospitalized patients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. METHOD: Participants were 45 hospitalized bulimic women who reported a history of child sexual abuse. Structured interviews were conducted in order to obtain detailed information regarding specific features of the abusive event(s). Participants also completed instruments that measured depression and eating pathology. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in severity of depression or eating disturbance among women reporting differing abusive experiences including intrafamilial versus extrafamilial abuse, abuse with or without the use of physical force, one versus multiple incidents, early abuse versus abuse occurring after age 14, contact versus noncontact abuse, disclosed versus undisclosed, and combined physical/sexual abuse versus sexual abuse alone. CONCLUSION: The specific characteristics of child sexual abuse are not related to the level of symptomatology for hospitalized bulimic patients. This study suggests that differences in the nature of the abuse may not be as important as the fact that the abuse occurred in the first place.     

Chapter 9 Separation-Individuation,Sense of Self,and Bulimia in College Students

Women who develop bulimia in college are often not prepared for the strenuous and conflicting demands of the college experience, which may reawaken and demand new, phase-appropriate resolution of separation-individuation issues and test the individual's stable sense of self. Bulimia may be seen as a coping mechanism for many young women who have failed to find healthy resolution of early conflicts over separation-individuation and who have failed to develop the "self structures" necessary for the further development of the sense of self which college demands. In this paper I will utilize clinical examples to illustrate some of the ways in which bulimia may be a "solution" for college women who are struggling with problems of separation, intimacy, and self-esteem.     

汉羌彝中学生负面身体自我和应对方式与主观幸福感的关系

采用问卷调查的方法,对900名初一至高三学生的负面身体自我和应对方式特点及其与主观幸福感的关系进行了研究.结果表明：（1）羌族中学生在负面身体自我量表总分及其负整体特征、相貌、胖三个维度和消极应对显著高于汉族或彝族中学生,而瘦的维度得分显著低于汉族中学生;学习成绩为优、良的中学生在负面身体自我量表总分及其整体特征、相貌两个维度和消极应对方式上评分显著低于学习成绩为中、差的中学生;父亲职业为工人或知识分子的中学生在负面身体自我量表总分及其矮、瘦、胖维度和消极应对上明显高于父亲职业为农民的中学生,同样母亲职业为工人或知识分子的中学生在瘦、胖两个维度和消极应对上得分明显高于父亲职业为农民的中学生.（2）中学生的瘦和积极应对方式与主观幸福感的各维度（除环境满意度）呈显著正相关,负面身体自我的其他各维度和消极应对方式与主观幸福感的各维度（除环境满意度）呈显著负相关.（3）多元回归分析表明,对于生活满意度和正性情感,整体特征为负向预测,积极应对为正向预测;相貌对生活满意度是负性预测,对正性情感则是正性预测.对于负性情感,整体特征、相貌、胖和消极应对为负向预测,积极应为正向预测.     

Chapter 8 Current College Environments:

For almost two decades, there has been increased awareness about the high incidence and prevalence of bulimia, primarily among women, and in particular among women college students. This article focuses on current college environments in order to identify factors present therein which might facilitate and foster bulimia in vulnerable students. These factors include finances and employment, freshman and senior transitions, the physical ambience and structure, relationships with peers and faculty, the academic arena, availablity or lack of support services and resources and model prevention programs. Underlying stresses include women's sex-role socialization together with the vulnerable individuals' personality characteristics.     

Does daddy know best? Exploring the relationship between paternal sexual communication and safe sex practices among African-American women

Parental sexual risk communication may influence women's sexual decision-making and safe sexual behaviours. While many studies have focused specifically on the influence of communication from mothers, some authors have argued for the importance of examining father–daughter sexual risk communication as well. However, few studies have empirically examined this relationship among African-American women. The present study sought to expand the literature by examining the relationship between various sexual risk messages received from paternal caregivers and the safe sexual practices of a sample of 171 African-American women from the Midwest USA. Results suggested that receiving messages from paternal caregivers cautioning participants about the intentions of men in romantic relationships was related to an increased likelihood of participants asking intimate partners about their sexual history. However, these messages were inversely related to safer condom practices. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.