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Epidemiologic changes in bulimic behavior among female adolescents over a five‐year period
Author(s) -
Johnson Craig,
Tobin David L.,
Lipkin Julie
Publication year - 1989
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(198911)8:6<647::aid-eat2260080605>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - dieting , psychology , etiology , bulimia nervosa , demography , eating disorders , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , weight loss , obesity , sociology
Abstract Because bulimia has only recently been recognized as a distinct diagnostic category, little is known about the extent to which this disorder has reached a stable morbidity in our culture. In this study we compared two samples of female adolescents which were collected 5 years apart, in 1981 and 1986. The samples were collected from the same suburban high school to ensure that the groups would be demographically equivalent. The 1986 sample demonstrated a 50% reduction in bulimic behaviors, a marked decrease in the prevalence of dieting behavior, and a reduction in preoccupation with thinness. Nevertheless, body dissatisfaction remained the same in the latter sample. Implications for the etiology of bulimia are discussed.