Premium
Ego boundary disturbance in juvenile anorexia nervosa
Author(s) -
Strober Michael,
Goldenberg Irene
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198104)37:2<433::aid-jclp2270370242>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - psychology , anorexia nervosa , id, ego and super ego , developmental psychology , rorschach test , phenomenology (philosophy) , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , eating disorders , philosophy , epistemology
Tested the hypothesis that ego boundary disturbance is present in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa. Twenty anorexics were compared to 20 female depressed controls on Rorschach scales designed to measure theoretically relevant aspects of boundary impairment. Results showed that anorexics scored higher on scales that measure inner‐outer and conceptual boundary disturbance and produced significantly more responses that emphasized the solidity of object boundaries. Boundary scores were unrelated to degree of weight loss and global symptom severity, and follow‐up testing after normal weight was restored revealed little change from initial levels. These findings are discussed in relation to current theory on the role of developmental ego pathology in the origins and phenomenology of anorexia nervosa.