The Psychological Effects of an Eating Disorder

1. The Psychological Effects of an Eating Disorder By: Johnna Lewis, Leanne Teeter, John Diachenko, Brianna Young English 12.018 January 30, 2006

2. Common Psychological Effects: • Body Dissatisfaction • Self Doubt • Perfectionism • Maturity Fears • Ineffectiveness / Inadequacy • Interpersonal Distrust • Interceptive Awareness

3. Body Dissatisfaction • “College students typically express concerns about body image, body shape, body size, and weight control…” (Schwitzer and others 154). • College females are unhappy with how they view themselves, and are afraid of how others view them. • Strive for a better looking appearance, eventually resulting in an eating disorder.

4. Body Dissatisfaction • Just because a woman is dissatisfied with her looks, doesn’t mean she will develop an eating disorder. • Hard to rely solely on body dissatisfaction as a cause of eating disorder (Grabmeier par 3-4). • “Women are more likely to have eating disorders when their body dissatisfaction is accompanied by other issues – most importantly, a tendency to obsessively examine their bodies…” (Grabmeier par. 2)

5. Self Doubt “When girls are insecure about their identity, they often shift the focus from their inner selves to their physical bodies, allowing their physical appearance to become their sense of self.” ~Kathie Hanlon on http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/esteem.htm

6. Self Doubt • Researchers testing the Eating Disorder NOS among college women to study the psychoemotional feature • When people begin to have self doubt, they begin to question everything about themselves http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/miic-mmac/images/fig_6-4_e.gif

7. Perfectionism • What is it? • Statistics • Effects

8. Maturity Fears Many college females have fears of maturity: “the desire for the security of preadolescent years in the face of overwhelming demands of adulthood.” -The Eating Disorders NOS Diagnostic Profile Among College Women Schwitzer and Associates

9. “A way that the adolescent retreats back to childhood so as not to be burdened by maturity and physical concerns.” -http://health.enotes.com/mental-disorders-encyclopedia/anorexia-nervosa • “Maturity Fears (desire for pre-pubertal appearance, avoidance of adult responsibility)” • -http://www.centerforhopeofthesierras.com/research.htm • Can cause women to keep their physical bodies from maturing – losing weight from areas that represent maturity and sexuality such as hips, buttocks, thighs, and breasts. • -http://www.raderprograms.com/whatare.htm

10. In Conclusion • Eating disorders affect all people, however the majority are women, and from those women, college women can be used to form a basic definition for people suffering from eating disorders • Someone with an eating disorder will be knowledgeable about food facts such as the nutritional value of a food, are highly scale oriented and weigh themselves often and constantly think about food

11. “25-40% of female undergraduates indicated moderate problems, including extreme worry about body image, weight management, or concern that their eating was out of control.” ~Schwitzer and others 2001

12. Works Cited • Grabmeier J. Study Shows How body Dissatisfaction Can Lead to Eating Disorders [Internet]. Ohio State University; [updated 2004 June 14; cited 2006 Jan. 29]. Available from: http://researchnews. osu.edu/archive/bodsatis.htm • Hanlon, Kathie. What Is The Relationship Between Low Self-Esteem and Eating Disorders? [Internet]. Vanderbilt University Psychology Department. [cited 2006 Jan 28]. Available from: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/esteem.htm • Centre for Chronic Disease and Prevention and Control, Health Canada. [cited 2006 Jan 28]. Available from: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/miic-mmac/images/fig_6-4_e.gif • Eating Disorders [Internet]. Huw Williams. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://www.ex.ac.uk/Psychology/docs/courses/1123/6-eatingdis_psy1123.ppt#278,8,Body Image Distortion: Self and others • Anorexia nervosa [Internet]. Enotes. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://health.enotes.com/mental-disorders-encyclopedia/anorexia-nervosa • Treatment Outcome Research at the Center [Internet]. Center for Hope of the Sierras. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://www.centerforhopeofthesierras.com/research.htm • Peter Pan picture [Internet]. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://www.dellorcoart.com/portfolio/animation/images/peter_pan.jpg • Eating Disorders [Internet]. Radar Programs. [cited 2006 Jan 26]. Available from: http://www.raderprograms.com/whatare.htm • Schwitzer AM, Rodriguez LE, Thomas C, Salimi L. The Eating Disorders NOS Diagnostic Profile Among College Women. Journal of American College Health [Internet]. 2001 Jan [cited 2006 Jan 26]; 49:157-168. Available from: http://weblinks2.epnet.com/citation.asp?tb=&_ug=sid+1F3EA3E6%2D6EC7%2D4755%2DA134%2D42F29047A635%40sessionmgr2+B42D&_us=hd+False+sm+ES+1C03&_uso=st%5B0+%2DAN++4110674+tg%5B0+%2D+db%5B0+%2Daph+op%5B0+%2D+hd+False+B116& • Anorexia picture [Internet]. [cited 2006 Jan 29] Available from: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/manuelperez/curso0405/udanatomia/digestive/alimentacion/imagenes/anorexia.jpg • [Internet]. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://www.almenconi.com/news/images/anorexia.jpg • [Internet]. [cited 2006 Jan 29]. Available from: http://www.psiqweb.med.br/anorexia.html