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Poor self‐recognition of disordered eating among girls with bulimic‐type eating disorders: cause for concern?
Author(s) -
GratwickSarll Kassandra,
Bentley Caroline,
Harrison Carmel,
Mond Jonathan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.12168
Subject(s) - eating disorders , bulimia nervosa , disordered eating , psychology , psychiatry , distress , vignette , anorexia nervosa , clinical psychology , population , mental health , medicine , environmental health , social psychology
Aim Bulimic‐type eating disorders are common among young women and associated with high levels of distress and disability and low uptake of mental health care. We examined self‐recognition of disordered eating and factors associated with this among female adolescents with bulimic‐type eating disorders ( n = 139) recruited from a large, population‐based sample. Methods A vignette of a fictional character with bulimia nervosa was presented, followed by a series of questions addressing the nature and treatment of the problem described. One of these questions required participants to indicate whether they currently had a problem such as the one described. Self‐report measures of eating disorder symptoms, general psychological distress and quality of life were also completed. Results More than half of participants (58%) did not believe that they currently had a problem with their eating. In multivariable analysis, impairment in emotional well‐being and self‐induced vomiting were the only variables independently associated with self‐recognition. Participants who recognized a problem with their eating were more likely to have sought treatment for an eating problem than those who did not. Conclusions Recognition of disordered eating among adolescents with bulimic‐type eating disorders may be poor and this may be a factor in low uptake of mental health care. Health promotion efforts may need to address the misconception that only bulimic‐type disorders involving self‐induced vomiting are pathological.