Substance Misuse Among Women with Eating Disorders

2228 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of mental health in drug abuse

Substance Misuse Among Women with Eating Disorders

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.

In the literature on eating disorders and substance abuse there is general agreement on two factors: patients with eating disorders display higher rates of substance abuse problems an...

... middle of paper ...

...ability to Substance Abuse in Eating Disorders. NIDA.159, 269-311.

Krahn, D., Piper, D., King, M., Olson, L., Kurth, C., Moberg, D.P. (1996). Dieting in Sixth Grade Predicts Alcohol Use in Ninth Grade. Journal of Substance Abuse. 8, 293-301.

Sinha, R., Robinson, J., Merikangas, K., Wilson, G.T., Rodin, J.,& O'Malley, S. (1996). Eating Pathology among Women with Alcoholism and/or Anxiety Disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 20, 1184-91.

Striegel-Moore, R., and Huydic, E. (1993). Problem Drinking and Symptoms of Disordered Eating in Female High School Students. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 14, 417-25.

Welch, S. and Fairburn, C. (1996). Impulsivity or Comorbidity in Bulimia Nervosa. A Controlled Study of Deliberate Self Harm and Alcohol and Drug Misuse in a Community Sample. British Journal of Psychiatry. 169, 451-8.

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Alcohol

    2082 Words  | 5 Pages

    Though alcohol has a host of biological benefits, one must not forget the social aspect of alcohol. After a long, stressful day/week people need something calming. Fellowship with friends and family with a nice cold beer can often satisfy that urge and release endorphins in the brain to send a sense of euphoria throughout the body.

    Read More

  • Anorexia Nervosa Case Study

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Crow, S.J., Peterson, C.B., Swanson, S.A., Raymond, N.C., Specker, S., Eckert, E.D., Mitchell, J.E. (2009) Increased mortality in bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 166, 1342-1346.

    Read More

  • Reducing Symptoms in Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder Through Drug Treatment

    2120 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are many types of treatments that attempt to mitigate the symptoms of bulimia and binge eating disorder. But what causes the binges in binge eating disorder and what causes the binge-purge cycle in bulimics? How can the symptoms of these disorders be reduced or eliminated? If the causes of these behaviors are discovered, the behaviors can be reduced. There are several therapies that have proven to be fairly effective in treating persons diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. Drug therapy has made great advances in recent years and goes straight to the root of the problem. Drug therapy attempts to uncover the biological causes of the symptoms of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

    Read More

  • Co-occurrence of Anxiety Disorders and Eating Disorders

    3077 Words  | 7 Pages

    Considering the growing preoccupation of teenage girls with their weight and their bodies, eating disorders have become even more of a concern. In light of the fact that mortality in anorexia nervosa is among the highest of all psychiatric disorders, it is increasingly important to understand what causes eating disorders and how best to treat them (Herzog et al., 1996). A meaningful area of research to consider when trying to understand eating disorders is comorbidity. Such psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse have been found to coexist, at least to some degree, with the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. This paper will examine how anxiety disorders have been found to interact with both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Alcohol

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    When lawmakers in the United States set the drinking age to twenty-one, it was not only to prevent teens from making destructive decisions, but also to avoid serious health issues. Once an adolescent begins to drink, a number of potential health risks can occur. When adolescents consume alcohol, they

    Read More

  • The Effects of Alcoholism

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    So why the hike in usage over such a short span of time? A few tentative conclusions have surfaced in response to the rapidly growing numbers. Research has shown that the absence of a parental figure within the household has proven to be an effective catalyst in spurring youth to participate in what would otherwise be considered reckless behavior. An additional explanation for the use of alcohol by an underage demographic can be the self-justification, created by youth, based on parental observation. If an adolescent actively participates in the consumption of alcohol, in an attempt to emulate the actions of their parents, then psychologically, that action would warrant that much more credibility.

    Read More

  • Overview of Drunkorexia

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Lucero, M. L., DiBello, J. R., Jacobson, A. E., & Wing, R. R. (2008). The relationship between alcohol use, eating habits and weight change in college freshmen. Eating Behaviors, 9(4), 504-508.doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2008.06.005

    Read More

  • Alcohol and its effects

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alcohol is a large part of American culture. All over the United States drinking is not only acceptable but a social norm from teenagers to adults. This is not only the case in the U.S., but all over the world, where some drinking ages are 18 and 19 years of age. In America specifically, alcohol has been around for centuries and is a large part of many social gatherings. Although this is the case now, in the early 1900’s during the prohibition period, all alcohol was banned and deemed illegal to possess. Even though illegal, the task was just too heavy and alcohol was too much a common practice for most Americans. As time went on the prohibition period ended and the laws were revoked, making it legal again to possess alcohol. The drinking related problems that were around during prohibition pale in comparison to the problems alcohol has caused since then.

    Read More

  • Adolescent Eating Disorders

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bulimia nervosa is a slightly less serious version of anorexia, but can lead to some of the same horrible results. Bulimia involves an intense concern about weight (which is generally inaccurate) combined with frequent cycles of binge eating followed by purging, through self-induced vomiting, unwarranted use of laxatives, or excessive exercising. Most bulimics are of normal body weight, but they are preoccupied with their weight, feel extreme shame about their abnormal behavior, and often experience significant depression. The occurrence of bulimia has increased in many Western countries over the past few decades. Numbers are difficult to establish due to the shame of reporting incidences to health care providers (Bee and Boyd, 2001).

    Read More

  • Drinking Alcohol

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant it has a huge impact on the lives of a drinker . In small quantities, alcohol results in a mild euphoria and usually removes inhibitions, and is relatively harmless. However, when used in excess, it has the power to change many lives in many ways. Alcohol causes a lot of trouble in a lot of peoples lives not just in the drinkers life. . Some ways it effects peoples lives include alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related traffic fatalities by individuals who are problem drinkers but who are not alcohol dependent. Because alcohol has so many negative effects on a person's mental and physical health, people should avoid the consumption of it altogether.

    Read More

  • Anorexia Nervosa

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    O’Dwyer, Michael P. Student Eating Disorders : Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 2005.

    Read More

  • Understanding Eating Disorders

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.

    Read More

  • An Overview of Anorexia Nervosa

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Sequía: Un problema previsto y anunciado

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    El 2013 il eñu errencó cun meles nutocoes pere lus robiriñus dil sar dil Atlántocu, pais e les dus simenes lus urgenosmus di privincoón di disestris si elermerun el vir lus novilis di egae dil ríu Megdeline. Sioscointus manocopous dil peís si incuntreben cun prublimes di ebesticomointu di egae, le elirte le lenzerun urgenosmus cunuciduris, Menail Rudrogaiz Bicirre, ixpirtu in midou embointi y ix monostru di istedu, dicíe qai le siqaíe ubidicíe e le felte di pulítoces midouembointelis “En lus últomus doiz eñus he hebodu an diclovi may fairti in lus prugremes di pruticcoón embointel” eformó pere nutocoes Cerecul il 8 di iniru dil 2013.

    Read More

  • Anorexia Nervosa Research Paper

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Substance Misuse Among Women with Eating Disorders

Open Document