Premium
Relationship of temperament and perceptions of nonshared environment in bulimia nervosa
Author(s) -
Berg Marea L.,
Crosby Ross D.,
Wonderlich Stephen A.,
Hawley Dale
Publication year - 2000
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(200009)28:2<148::aid-eat3>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - psychology , harm avoidance , bulimia nervosa , temperament , developmental psychology , personality , psychopathology , sibling , affection , novelty seeking , clinical psychology , eating disorders , social psychology
Objective Examine the relationship between temperament variables and perceptions of nonshared environment as they relate to bulimia nervosa. Method Fifty‐seven adult women completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience. These measures provided assessments of frequently studied temperament traits as well as nonshared environmental factors believed to be associated with psychopathology and temperament. Results Bulimic subjects showed higher levels of harm avoidance than did control subjects. Also, bulimic subjects perceived their fathers as less affectionate and more controlling than control subjects. Among bulimics, high levels of harm avoidance were associated with high levels of maternal affection and low levels of maternal control. Similarly, among bulimics, high levels of novelty seeking were more likely to be associated with decreased paternal control than was true for control subjects. Discussion These findings highlight the possible relationship between particular temperamental variables and associated family responses in bulimia nervosa. © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 28: 148–154, 2000.