Lecture 7: Everyday life Flashcards
Describe the history of eating disorders
Also called self induced starvation, it has no identifiable organic cause and it’s inherently feminine. It’s been seen throughout most of history. It’s said to develop from women’s irrational and perverse nature. The discovery of eating disorders coincided with the general move from religion to science and the discovery of adolescence. Anorexia nervosa has become much more prevalent over the years, mainly in westerns cultures that have a preoccupation to be thin. Nowadays it’s normal for a female to diet, purge and binge.
Describe cultural distributions of eating disorders
Describe media influences
It’s increasing in highly industrialised non-westernised cultures, mainly south east asia, there’s tensions between traditional and contemporary gender roles and the rse can be attributed to media growth.
Groesz 2002 found that media portrayals of slender ideals led to body dissatisfaction. Stice 1994 found that there was a direct link between media exposure of the thin ideal and eating disorder symptoms. Women in fashion magazines have become thinner and less curvaceous and efforts to lose weight among women has become wide spread.
Describe cultural distributions of eating disorders
Describe media influences
It’s increasing in highly industrialised non-westernised cultures, mainly south east asia, there’s tensions between traditional and contemporary gender roles and the rse can be attributed to media growth.
Groesz 2002 found that media portrayals of slender ideals led to body dissatisfaction. Stice 1994 found that there was a direct link between media exposure of the thin ideal and eating disorder symptoms. Women in fashion magazines have become thinner and less curvaceous and efforts to lose weight among women has become wide spread.
Describe cultural distributions of eating disorders
Describe media influences
It’s increasing in highly industrialised non-westernised cultures, mainly south east asia, there’s tensions between traditional and contemporary gender roles and the rse can be attributed to media growth.
Groesz 2002 found that media portrayals of slender ideals led to body dissatisfaction. Stice 1994 found that there was a direct link between media exposure of the thin ideal and eating disorder symptoms. Women in fashion magazines have become thinner and less curvaceous and efforts to lose weight among women has become wide spread.
Describe the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa
95% of people who have this are women. 1% of the population have it and up to 15% die of starvation. It’s a refusal to maintain normal body weight, body weight is at least 15% below the expected weight. You have an intense fear of gaining weight and have body image distortion which is an over evaluation of your thinness. You have a reduction of food intake, you avoid fatty food, you do extensive exercise, you self induce vomit, you use laxatives or diuretic abuse. High comorbidity with depression and personality disorders as well as depression. They rate themselves as further away from ideal and larger than they are.
What is bulimia nervosa?
You experience recurrent episodes of binge eating where you eat large quantities of food for a discrete period of time. You eat up to 4000 calories and use inappropriate diet techniques to prevent weight gain, like laxatives, vomiting and enemas. It occurs at least twice a week for three months, you evaluate yourself depending on your body image, it doesn’t occur exclusively during periods of anorexia nervosa. You need to have impulsivity, sexual maturity and a lack of self control.
What is bulimia nervosa?
You experience recurrent episodes of binge eating where you eat large quantities of food for a discrete period of time. You eat up to 4000 calories and use inappropriate diet techniques to prevent weight gain, like laxatives, vomiting and enemas. It occurs at least twice a week for three months, you evaluate yourself depending on your body image, it doesn’t occur exclusively during periods of anorexia nervosa. You need to have impulsivity, sexual maturity and a lack of self control.
Is the diagnosis for eating disorders valid?
No as people are most commonly diagnosed with eating disorder NOS and binge eating, this was found in outpatient samples and community samples. Transdiagnostic approach is advocated. 50% of people with anorexia, develop bulimia.
Is the diagnosis for eating disorders valid?
No as people are most commonly diagnosed with eating disorder NOS and binge eating, this was found in outpatient samples and community samples. Transdiagnostic approach is advocated. 50% of people with anorexia, develop bulimia.
List the risk factors of people with eating disorders
Body image distortion, body dissatisfaction, cognitive distortion (core pathology), weight related self schemata, perfectionist, low self esteem, good girl syndrome, depression, anxiety, personality disorder and substance abuse. White middle class high achievers are most at risk.
List the cognitive factors involved with eating disorders
Core negative self beliefs, dissociation or avoidance of emotional distress channelled into weight concerns, cognitive rigidity, perfectionism, emotional avoidance, proanorectic beliefs, others’ responses, thoughts relating to the importance of control. Higher levels of meta-cognition, worry was dangerous, elevated awareness, control of thoughts.
Binge eating: Cognitive and emotional avoidance- positive beliefs about eating, negative beliefs about weight, permissive thoughts, negative self statements, thoughts of no control.
List the cognitive factors involved with eating disorders
Core negative self beliefs, dissociation or avoidance of emotional distress channelled into weight concerns, cognitive rigidity, perfectionism, emotional avoidance, proanorectic beliefs, others’ responses, thoughts relating to the importance of control. Higher levels of meta-cognition, worry was dangerous, elevated awareness, control of thoughts.
Binge eating: Cognitive and emotional avoidance- positive beliefs about eating, negative beliefs about weight, permissive thoughts, negative self statements, thoughts of no control.
Describe the emotions of people with eating disorders
Unable to express emotions or divorce themselves from stressful emotions. Fox and Power found that they experience self disgust and anger. Anger is threatening so is directed away from one’s self and onto the body.
Difficulty recognising own and others’ emotions, perhaps due to an emotionally impoverished early environment, defensive strategy. Alexithymia but this could be a state emotion.
Describe the family influence of people with eating disorders
Describe the father’s influence
Enmeshment, over protective, lack of conflict resolution and rigidity. Deflects attention away from family conflict, it’s a pseudo solution. A way of recapturing the safety of a mother daughter bond (a feminist theory).
More negative recollections of paternal rearing; three core beliefs (abandonment, shame and vulnerability to harm), the rearing behaviours were predictive of eating disorders, paternal rejection is a key problem.
Describe the influence of gender on eating disorders
Women care more about their appearance.
The femininity theory which believes that women are passive, need approval and are dependent.
The discrepancy theory which believes that masculinity is highly prized and is incompatible with socialisation.
They have limited access to power and power can only be gained through appearance. Confusion and contradiction relating to female maturation; refusal of sexual maturation, refusal of femininity. Conflicting roles; no specific link between gender traits and eating disorders, people who conform to traditional gender roles and try to be everything are at increased risk. Mothers that have children with eating disorders are more likely to have problem eating behaviours, if both believe in projection and the mother reports lower belief in their daughter’s autonomy then there is increased risk for daughter.
Childhood sexual abuse, cognitive correlation with attentional bias, abused anorexics are vulnerable to selectively processing things symbolically related to body image. More gay men are getting eating disorders. The thin body is heterosexually attractive, a starving body can symbolise a non-body which is power and control. Disidentification from the maternal body is freedom from reproductive destiny.
