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Object relations ego deficits in bulimic college women
Author(s) -
Becker Bonnie,
Bell Morris,
Billington Randall
Publication year - 1987
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(198701)43:1<92::aid-jclp2270430113>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - psychology , object relations theory , id, ego and super ego , ambivalence , egocentrism , object (grammar) , psychoanalytic theory , developmental psychology , interpersonal relationship , eating disorder inventory , clinical psychology , eating disorders , social psychology , psychotherapist , bulimia nervosa , linguistics , philosophy
Two types of bulimic (purging and restricting) and two types of non‐bulimic (binging or normal) eating patterns were reported by 547 undergraduate women who also were assessed for ego function deficits on the four subscales of the Bell Object Relations Inventory. As predicted by psychoanalytic theory, the two bulimic subgroups appeared significantly more pathological on the Insecure Attachment subscale, which identifies ambivalent interpersonal relations and fear of object loss. When the four groups were ranked according to severity of type of eating disorder, a linear increase in group means and in the proportion of high scoring subjects was found on Insecure Attachment and also on the Egocentricity subscale, which indicates suspicious and manipulative attitudes towards others. Results are interpreted to support theories that relate eating disorder to disturbances in object relations ego functioning.