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Sexual abuse and body‐image distortion in the eating disorders
Author(s) -
Waller Glenn,
Hamilton Kate,
Rose Nicola,
Sumra Jaspreet,
Baldwin Gillian
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1993.tb01066.x
Subject(s) - sexual abuse , psychology , anorexia nervosa , eating disorders , bulimia nervosa , clinical psychology , psychological abuse , psychiatry , poison control , suicide prevention , medicine , medical emergency
It has been suggested that there is a link between sexual abuse and bodily self‐deprecation in women with eating disorders. In order to test that model, this study considers whether reported sexual abuse is associated with body‐image distortion in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. There was no association with the reported presence of a history of abuse. However, the nature of any abuse was important. In particular, women who reported more recent abuse had a substantially greater level of body‐size overestimation. The clinical implications of this finding are discussed.