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Relationships between bulimia, childhood sexual abuse, and family environment
Author(s) -
Hastings Teresa,
Kern Jeffrey M.
Publication year - 1994
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(199403)15:2<103::aid-eat2260150202>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - sexual abuse , psychology , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , psychiatry , child abuse , developmental psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , psychotherapist , medical emergency
Prior studies investigating the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and bulimia have yielded mixed to weak empirical support for such an association. The current research, utilizing relatively restrictive definitions of abuse and bulimia, obtained significant associations between bulimia, sexual abuse, and a chaotic family environment in female college students. Among abuse victims, severity of abuse was also associated with bulimia. Although some analyses suggested that a chaotic family environment moderated the abuse—bulimia association, sexual abuse, and family environment appeared to combine in an additive manner to increase the probability of bulimia. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.