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The prevalence of bulimia and binge eating in adolescent girls
Author(s) -
Crowther Janis H.,
Post Gail,
Zaynor Leslie
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(198502)4:1<29::aid-eat2260040105>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - binge eating , vomiting , bulimia nervosa , psychology , psychiatry , eating disorders , ninth , medicine , clinical psychology , physics , acoustics
This research investigated the prevalence of bulimia and binge eating in 363 adolescent girls in the ninth through twelfth grade (X age = 16.0 years). Substantial proportions of these girls reported episodes of binge eating (46.0%) and acknowledged the use of self‐induced vomiting (11.2%), laxatives (4.7%), and fasting (36.4%) as methods to control their weight. While 7.7% of the girls met the DSM‐III criteria for the diagnosis of bulimia, the prevalence rate decreases to 2.8% when these criteria are modified to require the presence of at least weekly binging and purging only via self‐induced vomiting or the use of laxatives. An additional 4.4% of the girls engaged in “problematic” binge eating. Comparisons with previous research are offered and diagnostic issues discussed.