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Psychological characteristics of women with eating disorders: Permanent or transient features?
Author(s) -
Blaase Helle,
Elklit Ask
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9450.00260
Subject(s) - checklist , psychology , coping (psychology) , clinical psychology , eating disorders , danish , eating attitudes test , disordered eating , eating disorder inventory , symptom checklist 90 , psychiatry , mental health , bulimia nervosa , somatization , linguistics , philosophy , cognitive psychology
The purpose of the study was to make a psychological profile of Danish women with Eating Disorders, who were not currently hospitalized. 75 women between the ages of 19 and 46 years participated. 22 participants suffered from a clinical eating disorder (ED). 20 women had previously suffered from a clinical ED, and 33 women had never suffered from ED. The study included sociodemographic data, problems in relation to eating and weight, exposure to stressful life events, and the following questionnaires: The Eating Disorder Inventory, the Rosenberg Self–Esteem Scale, the Coping Styles Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist. Psychologically, women with ED differed significantly from women without ED by using a more primitive defense style, perceiving themselves as being more exposed to stress, using more inefficient methods of coping and having lower self–esteem. Unexpectedly, the study also showed that recovery from an ED was resulting in normalisation of both behavioral and psychological characteristics . The implications of these findings are discussed.