Anorexia Nervosa Research Paper

The purposes for this research is that in the past it has been believed that many young women and men who have eating disorders have a higher likelihood to become addicted to other substances and engage is risky behaviors. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder; thus, it is pertinent for researcher to find more information on proper treatment and prevention mechanisms. From other studies it has been shown that those with bulimia nervosa and those with anorexia nervosa with bulimic symptoms are more likely than those with restrictive anorexia nervosa to use substances recreationally. A clinical study done by Strober, Freeman, Bower, and Rigali (in press) followed a set of adolescents over a ten-year period

who were hospitalized for anorexia nervosa and had no history of substance abuse. They found that those who either had or developed binge eating subsequently developed substance use disorder later in life. This motivation behind this study is to gain a better understanding while using a clinical approach to investigate substance abuse in young adolescent girls suffering from anorexia.

Methods
The participants for this study were 117 adolescent girls that ranged from 12 to 17 years-old with a mean age of 15.44.

114 of the participants were Caucasian. They were evaluated using the DSM-III-R criteria. The study took place at a university-based outpatient eating disorder clinic. Clinicians gave each participant a 2 hour long diagnostic evaluation, all clinician were knowledgeable and experienced in the field of treatment of eating disorders. They diagnosed 59 of the participants with anorexia nervosa and 58 of the participants with bulimia nervosa. Those who met both of the criteria were placed in the anorexia nervosa group. After confirming each participant’s diagnosis, they completed a 24-paged instrument regarding substance use. They were asked to answer question on the use of eight different drugs: alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, hallucinogens, marijuana, tranquilizers, cocaine, and cigarettes. After that, they tested for impulse behaviors using a self-reported history. They test specifically for suicide attempts, self-injurious behavior, stealing, and sexual intercourse. Some examples of questions they asked include: “Have you ever tried to physically hurt yourself (examples of this include cutting yourself, hitting yourself with intent to hurt, burning yourself with cigarettes.)?” or “Have you ever stolen items related to eating or weight (examples of this include food, laxatives, diet pills

etc.)?”

Results
Of the 59 participants with anorexia, 13 reported bulimic symptoms and accounted for most of the substance use for the group. Of the 11 participants with anorexia who reported alcohol use, 6 had bulimic symptoms. Of the 8 participants with anorexia who said they used cigarettes, 4 reported bulimic symptoms. Of the 5 anorexics who reported marijuana use, 3 had bulimic symptoms.
Of the participants who showed bulimic symptoms or was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, 21% of them were more experienced with drugs. To be considered more experienced they had to have used 3 or more substances. Of the 21% of more experienced participants, all engaged in sexual intercourse, 60% in stealing, 40% in self-harm, and 66.7% in attempted suicide.
Discussion
As we have seen in previous studies of adults, the researchers found that were relatively low rates of substance use and impulsive behavior for restrictive anorexia nervosa and relatively high for those with bulimia nervosa and those with bulimic symptoms. Statistic show from this study that those who were more experience with substances were more likely to engaged in impulsive behavior. Due to these findings, we are able to extract that there are personality difference between those who suffer from anorexia nervosa and those who suffer from bulimia nervosa. Some limitation of this study is that it does not address why these adolescents use substance and participate in impulsive behaviors. This study expands the understanding of previous research regarding adults with eating disorder and uses substance recreationally.