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Bulimia: A comparison of psychological adjustment and familial characteristics in a nonclinical sample
Author(s) -
Kent Jan S.,
Clopton James R.
Publication year - 1988
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(198811)44:6<964::aid-jclp2270440619>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - psychology , sample (material) , clinical psychology , chromatography , chemistry
Abstract This study examined the relation of eating attitudes and behaviors to family dynamics and psychological adjustment in a nonclinical group of female university freshmen. Family dynamics variables, which were measured by the Family Environment Scale (FES), included Control, Cohesion, Conflict, Organization, Expressiveness, Independence, Achievement‐Orientation, Intellectual‐Cultural Orientation, Active‐Recreational Orientation, and Moral Religious Emphasis. Psychological adjustment was measured by the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSC). Variables on this scale included Anxiety, Depression, Somatization, Obsessive‐Compulsive, and Interpersonal Sensitivity. Eating attitudes and behaviors were measured by the Bulimia Test (BULIT), a 32‐item self‐report inventory. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that bulimics, subclinical bulimics, and normals could be differentiated on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Univariate analyses revealed differences between the groups on all of the HSC measures and the Organization scale of the FES. The results suggest that conclusions about the causal relationships between maladaptive family patterns and bulimia presented in previous research should be viewed with caution.