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causes of eating disorders essay
link between child abuse and mental health issues
Introduction on eating disorder
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Many studies show various contributing factors that may lead a person into the development of an eating disorder. An individual may become a victim of an eating disorder due to problems in their social or personal lives. The causes of eating disorders are not factors of just one specific situation, but can root from many areas of ones life. Studies have narrowed down what seems to be the most popular causes for a person to develop these eating disorders. Severe disorders in individuals’ eating habits can stem from many factors including but not limited to childhood and adulthood emotional, physical and sexual abuse, poor body image, substance abuse, and their living environment. A wide variety of studies have been completed to see the affects that childhood emotional abuse has on ones eating habits. There are people that are emotionally abused but are able to come out seemingly unharmed or affected, as well as, those that continue to deal with lifelong damage. During a study of 176 bulimic individuals 41.6% of them reported to have suffered severe emotional abuse as a child (Groleau, Steiger, Bruce, Israel, Sycz, Ouellette & Badawi, 2011). Although many of the patients included in the study suffered from different types of abuse leading to their eating disorder, the study also showed that those that suffered childhood emotional abuse tended to have more severe eating habits than the others (Groleau, Steiger, Bruce, Israel, Sycz, Ouellette & Badawi, 2011). The study relays that when a child suffers from emotional damage, it can lead into an altered view of oneself into adulthood. The study reports that, “childhood emotional abuse may influence severity of eating symptoms, perhaps by impacting individuals’ self-esteem and ... ... middle of paper ... ...orer, D., Keel, P., Jackson, S., & Manzo, M. (2006). Drug abuse with women with eating disorders. In International Journal of Eating Disorders (5th ed., Vol. 39, pp. 364-368). Leonard, S., Steiger, H., & Kao, A. (2003). Childhood and adulthood abuse in bulimic and nonbulimic women: Prevalences and psychological correlates. In A. Kao (Ed.), International Journal of Eating Disorders (4th ed., Vol. 33, pp. 397-405). Schmidt, U., Humfress, H., & Treasure, J. (1997). The role of general family environment and sexual and physical abuse in the origins of eating disorders. In European Eating Disorders Review (3rd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 184-207). Villarroel, A., Penelo, E., Portell, M., & Raich, R. (2012). Childhood sexual and physical abuse in spanish female undergraduates: Does it affect eating disturbances?. In European Eating Disorders Review (1st ed., Vol. 20, pp. e32-e41).
Eating disorders are not caused by a single source, such as control, but are due to an accumulation of factors including genetics, upbringing, culture, and personality.
The National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions. Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002.
Worsnop, R. L. (1992, December 18). Eating disorders . CQ Researcher, 2, 1097-1120. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
Several studies have focused on stress as one important variable in the onset or occurrence of eating disorders such as bulimia. In addition, they explore the different situations or events which bulin-fics consider to be stressful and the various ways in which bulimics cope with these stressors. In this paper I plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the following related studies and attempt to answer the question, What is the role of stress in the development of DuUnfia?
Johnson-Sabine, E. & Reiss, D.(1995). Bulimia Nervosa: 5-year Social Outcome and Relationship to Eating Pathology. International Journal of Eating Disorders,18(2),127-133.
Research on eating disorders has revealed a greater incidence of substance use and/or misuse in women with eating disorders than in the general population. Most of the research agrees that substance misuse is more common in patients with bulimia nervosa and the binge eating/purging subtype of patients with anorexia than in women with the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa. Researchers and specialists have proposed a range of theories to account for the strong association between substance misuse and bulimia nervosa. Experiments have not provided evidence to conclusively support any one theory. However, studies conducted in the past decade have enabled researchers to refine their hypotheses and accumulate more accurate information about eating disorders and substance use. Researchers have examined personality characteristics, family history, and biological and environmental factors common to persons with both substance use problems and eating disorders. In addition, the onset of eating disorders in relation to the beginning of substance abuse are examined to determine if one disorder drives the other. Differences in characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa and patients with bulimia nervosa are examined to determine differences in rates of comorbidity with substance abuse. While continued research is necessary to assess the validity of proposed theories, the current knowledge proposes some interesting ideas about the relationship between substance abuse and eating disorders.
Eating Disorders are on a rapid rise in the United States today, they sweep the halls of Junior High School, High Schools, College Campuses and even Elementary Schools. These disorders are often referred to by professionals as the “Deadly Diet,” however you may know them as Anorexia or Bulimia. Eating disorder effect more than 20% of young females and males in today’s society. Ranging in age from thirteen to forty. It is very rare for a child of a young age to not know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder or symptoms that are associated with one. Statistically it has been proven that one out of every five young woman suffer from serious issues dealing with eating and or weight. (Bruch, 25)
Today's literature estimates that as many as 1 in 3 females and 1 in 7 boys have been the victim of sexual abuse. There are about 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of incest each year in each major city in the United States. It is reported by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse that in 1993, 2.9 million children were reported to protective services because they were being abused, neglected, or both (Schwartz). 16% of these 2.9 million children had been sexually abused. It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America today http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm#Disclosure. This childhood sexual abuse has been implicated by some eating disorder experts as a factor in the etiology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorder experts are currently engaged in heated debate concerning whether sexual abuse is a specific risk factor or a general risk factor in the development of eating disorders. Those who propose a specific link hypothesis believe that eating disorders are directly related to early sexual abuse and are a form of gender specific posttraumatic stress disorder. The proponents of the specific link hypothesis believe that their exists "complex, multiple mediating mechanisms between sexual abuse and disordered eating" (Kearney-Cook, 1994). They believe that sexual abuse has a direct effect on the victims body image. There is an emphasis on the "adverse effects of sexual abuse on body esteem, self-regulation, identity, and on interpersonal functioning" (Kearney-Cook, 1994). Those on the opposite side of the argument believe that eating disorders are not specifically caused by sex...
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Eating Disorders: Causes." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 08 Feb. 2012. Web. .
The possible relationship between sexual abuse and the development of an eating disorder has gained attention over the last few years. Researchers have attempted to clarify this potential link using a variety of population samples and research methodologies. As will be shown, the results of these investigations are rather diverse and sometimes inconclusive. In the following review of the literature, the complex relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders will be examined while also discussing the methodological limitations of the various designs.
An eating disorder is characterized when eating, exercise and body image become an obsession that preoccupies someone’s life. There are a variety of eating disorders that can affect a person and are associated with different characteristics and causes. Most cases can be linked to low self esteem and an attempt to, “deal with underlying psychological issues through an unhealthy relationship with food” (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood, with females being most vulner...
The exact cause of eating disorders is unknown. As with other mental illnesses, there may be many causes, such as:
Rorty M, Yager J, & Rossotto E (1994). Childhood sexual, physical, and psychological abuse in bulimia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1122-1126.
Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa are described as psychological eating disorders (Keel and Levitt, 1). They are both characterized by an over evaluation of weight. Despite being primarily eating disorders, the manifestations of bulimia and anorexia are different. They both present a very conspicuous example of dangerous psychological disorders, as according to the South Carolina Department of Health, “Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness” (Eating Order Statistics, 1). While Bulimia and anorexia both psychological disorders primarily prevalent in women, anorexia tend to have different diagnostic complexities, symptoms and physiological effects as compared to bulimia.