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Cognitive content among bulimic women: The role of core beliefs
Author(s) -
Waller Glenn,
Ohanian Vartouhi,
Meyer Caroline,
Osman Selen
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<235::aid-eat15>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - shame , psychology , psychopathology , dysfunctional family , cognition , schema (genetic algorithms) , eating disorders , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , machine learning , computer science
Objective Most cognitive analyses of bulimic disorders have stressed the role of negative automatic thoughts or dysfunctional assumptions regarding weight, shape, and food. This study considered the role of more general core beliefs in the cognitive content of bulimic disorders. Methods Fifty bulimic and 50 comparison women completed the Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and a diary measure of bulimic behaviors. Results The groups could be differentiated using just three of the beliefs: perceived Defectiveness/Shame, Insufficient Self‐Control, and Failure to Achieve. This discrimination included differences between bulimic subgroups. At the symptomatic level, the bulimic women's Emotional Inhibition beliefs predicted their severity of binging, whereas their Defectiveness/Shame beliefs predicted severity of vomiting. Conclusions The findings support a model of bulimic psychopathology where the central cognitions encompass more than beliefs about food, shape, and weight. Clinical implications are considered. © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 28: 235–241, 2000.