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Are child sexual experiences related to eating‐disordered attitudes and behaviors in a college sample?
Author(s) -
Smolak Linda,
Levine Michael P.,
Sullins Ellen
Publication year - 1990
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(199003)9:2<167::aid-eat2260090206>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - psychology , eating disorders , sexual abuse , clinical psychology , multivariate analysis of variance , disordered eating , personality , child sexual abuse , child abuse , psychiatry , developmental psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , social psychology , environmental health , machine learning , computer science
Clinicians and theorists have suggested a link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and the later development of eating disorders. Finkelhor and Browne (1986) argue that this link is mediated by abuse characteristics, personality variables, and levels of family support. The present study investigated child sexual experiences and family support as predictors of disordered attitudes and behaviors in a well‐functioning female college sample. Abused respondents had higher total scores on the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) than nonabused respondents, but a MANOVA revealed no between‐group differences on the EDI subscales. Further, abuse characteristics were either unrelated (e.g., severity) or weakly related (e.g., reaction to abuse) to EDI scores. Family support, especially parental reliability, did predict EDI scores. This was more true for CSA victims. Thus, there appeared to be an interactive relationship between abuse status and family variables in influencing EDI scores.