Abnormal - analyse etiologies of anorexia

Question 1

biological etiologies

Answer 1

• evolutionary (Surbey, 1987)
• anorexia and OCD are similar (Zandian et al, 2007)
• serotonin hypothesis (Striegel-Moore and Bulik, 2007)
• unusual brain activity (van Kuyck et al, 2007)

Question 2

biological etiologies: evolutionary theory

Answer 2

Surbey (1987):

• noted that weight loss usually comes after the amenorrhea
• anorexia often occurs in girls who are maturing early, so Surbey suggests that starvation is an adaptive response
• this deliberately delays reproductive capabilities until a more appropriate time

Question 3

biological etiologies: evaluation of evolutionary theory

Answer 3

Strengths:

• unlike many evolutionary theories, it can be experimentally tested – as it states that females who delay menstruation (or undergo amenorrhea) may enjoy greater reproductive success
• also explains obsession with food that many anorexic patients have; adaptive behaviour during starvation is to shift attention to acquiring food

Weaknesses:
- excludes males (even if males are a very small sub-group of anorexics)

Question 4

biological etiologies: anorexia and OCD

Answer 4

Zandian et al (2007):

• anorexia is an expression of underlying OCD – as OCD frequently precedes anorexia
• suggests sexual dimorphism in the manifestation of OCD – female biology interacts with the OCD in a way that has a higher chance of causing the OCD to manifest as anorexia

Question 5

biological etiologies: serotonin hypothesis

Answer 5

Striegel-Moore and Bulik (2007):

• found that less serotonin receptors = more mood issues among anorexic patients
• also found that in general serotonin levels are low in anorexic patients

Question 6

biological etiologies: criticism of serotonin hypothesis

Answer 6

Zandian et al. (2007):

• studies measuring serotonin levels do not have a ‘before’ measure – this is impossible to obtain!
• furthermore, ‘after’ measures indicate that serotonin levels return to normal after health is restored
• as serotonin is known to inhibit eating, it’s more likely that low serotonin is a product rather than a cause of anorexia

Question 7

biological etiologies: unusual brain activity

Answer 7

van Kuyck et al (2007):

• anorexia sufferers show decreased activity in the parietal cortex
• this could be attributed to the body dysmorphia and anosognosia (ignorance/denial of one’s condition) that frequently occurs in anorexia patients
• as the parietal cortex is sexually dysmorphic, this could explain the difference between male and female prevalences of anorexia

Question 8

cognitive etiologies

Answer 8

• need for control (Fairburn et al, 1999)

- body distortion hypothesis (Bruch, 1962)

Question 9

cognitive etiologies: need for control

Answer 9

Fairburn et al. (1999):

• low self esteem + extreme need for control = anorexia
• suggests that the need for control can be met more easily in the aspect of controlling food intake rather than in other aspects (e.g. sports, social life)
• this is supported by the fact that dieting is associated with self-control in Western society
• over time, control over eating becomes a measure of self-worth

Question 10

cognitive etiologies: body distortion hypothesis

Answer 10

Bruch (1962):

• anorexic people suffer from body dysmorphia
• their flaws are magnified to themselves

Question 11

cognitive etiologies: criticism of body distortion hypothesis

Answer 11

Fallon and Rozin (1988):

• when families were asked to compare their body shape to their ideal body shape, only the sons reported that their body shape was acceptable
• most mother and daughter participants believed that men prefer thinner women than they actually do

Question 12

sociocultural etiologies

Answer 12

• improper diagnostic systems (Lee et al, 1966)
• social stigmatisation of obesity (Lee et al, 1966)
• conformity to social standards (Strahan et al, 2007)

Question 13

sociocultural etiologies: improper diagnostic systems

Answer 13

Lee et al. (1966):

• Western diagnostic systems are inappropriate for use in other countries
• 16% of slim but healthy Chinese women can be classified as anorexic using the Western BMI

Question 14

sociocultural etiologies: social stigmatisation of obesity

Answer 14

Lee et al (1966):

• notes that anorexia developed most intensely in areas with significant media influence
• thus people are exposed to a significant amount of info on dieting and eating disorders
• may influence people to think they are the wrong shape
• unclear whether anorexia has caused this receptiveness, or if acceptance of the message led to anorexia

Question 15

sociocultural etiologies: conformity to social standards

Answer 15

Strahan et al. (2007):

• encourages them to believe that thin models and actresses are normal and attractive
• so people conform to the perceived expectations of others to undergo excessive dieting to fit that norm
• may be influenced from a young age for females (e.g. Barbie doll shape)