Birth Order and Eating Disorders
I. Introduction:
Individuals are pieces of a whole, called the family. The family has an undeniable influential role on each of the members of the unit, and conversely the individuals’ influence on the family unit. With this undeniable understanding of the family, it is important to look at the relationship between those with eating disorders and birth order. Is there a correlation between birth order and the development of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia? However, birth order only scratches the surface of the relationship between eating disorders and the family unit. Looking past potential relationships between birth order and eating disorders, is there the possibility of a relationship between eating disorders and the family dynamic? Perhaps the dynamic of the shared relationship between family members, beyond sibling relationships, plays an important role in the development of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia.
II. Birth order effect?
Locating studies with a focus on a relationship between birth order and eating disorders is a difficult task. Little research has been conducted to look for possible correlations between rank in birth order and the development of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Few researchers have attempted to look for a correlation, and those that have completed studies have conflicting findings.
Rowland (1970) searched for a relationship between birth order and anorexia nervosa. In his study, he found that those with anorexia nervosa were overwhelmingly the eldest children; however, his study just fell short of statistical significance. Crisp (1977) and Crisp et al. (1980) tried to duplicate his findings but failed to support Rowland. On the contrary, the two studies found an excess of later born siblings and the development of eating disorders. Findings for birth rank and anorexia have thus far proven to be inconsistent and more studies need to be conducted to determine the relevance of birth rank and anorexia.
Similarly, few studies conducted have focused on birth order and bulimia. Ebert (1983) and Dolan et al. (1989) failed to find any significant deviation from expectation in the birth order of patients with bulimia. Lacey, Gowers and Bhat (1991) found that in small families, the bulimic was more likely to be the only or oldest child, however this held no statistical evidence. The second finding in the study is that bulimia is represented in all family sizes, but of particular interest is that all-female siblingships were well represented, but this too did not prove to be statistically significant.
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Rorty M, Yager J, & Rossotto E (1994). Childhood sexual, physical, and psychological abuse in bulimia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1122-1126.
O’Dwyer, Michael P. Student Eating Disorders : Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 2005.
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