Chapter 10 Developing the Voice of the Wise Woman:

This chapter integrates current research on female psychological development which emphasizes the centrality of relationships in female identity formation and moral reasoning, with an analysis of cultural ideals that have arisen during the past 20 years. Research to be presented suggests that the failure of some young women to identify prevailing cultural expectations of independence and success and to differentiate these expectations from their own values of care and connection may lead them to act out a conflict between these different values in self-destructive patterns of eating behavior. This author suggests that the current high incidence of bulimia in college-age females is related to cultural factors impeding the transition from adolescence to young adulthood and discusses the implication of a sociocultural perspective for prevention, intervention and treatment.