Anorexia Nervosa and the Role of the Court

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

Eating disorders in children, like in adults, are generally viewed as a multi-determined syndrome with a variety of interacting factors, biological, psychological, familial and socio-cultural. It is important to recognize that each factor plays a role in predisposing, precipitating, or perpetuating the problem.

Through practice, social workers may work with those who experience eating disorders, including the life threatening anorexia nervosa, however the imperative treatment of disordered eating often causes much controversy due to the ethical implications it carries. The medical dictionary defines Anorexia Nervosa as;

Anorexia Nervosa is usually psychological as well as possibly an eating disorder which is life-threatening well-defined by a tremendously low body weight comparative to stature, great and needless weight loss, fear of gaining weight and distorted discernment of an individual’s self-image and body. There are several clinical factors of this eating disorder, and they are the following: the victim has a tendency of fearing his normal body weight where in this case, a person fears to be fat. In other words, the fear of normal body weight is very common in this eating disorder which is observed as a pathognomonic of the situation. In the case of Joshua, his parents should understand that he fears to get fat such that he already feels that his body

     The family tends to play an important role in the development of eating disorders. Males tend to have very strict, domineering fathers who encouraged development in sports. It has also been recognized that many men with eating disorders may not have had a father figure around at all. (Zerbe, 1992) Their mothers have been described as overprotective and controlling. (Romero, 1994) Adolescent boys with eating disorders relate that parents or siblings are usually on diets as well and there tends to be an emphasis on food and dieting

Eating Disorders affect 5-10 million Americans, and thousands of people die each year from their complications. Although some groups are at a greater risk than others, eating disorders occur in people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We do not know what causes eating disorders, but many factors have been identified that may play a role (Smolin and Mary Grosvenor, 40).

Biological and familial influences can lead specifically to early-age distortion eating disorders. When compared with mothers of daughters in a non- clinical control group, mothers of adolescent girls with disordered eating patterns showed greater eating disturbance, had a longer history of dieting, and wanted their daughters to lose more weight (Pike and Rodin,

We are all genetically and socially affected by our families. Families serve as the matrix of our identity. It is through interactions within the family that we develop a sense of who we are and how we fit in (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978). Parents serve as role models, providing examples for attitudes, coping skills, and eating habits, as well as setting standards for perfection, ambition and acceptance (Hall & Cohn, 1992). Many researchers claim that family dynamics are at the root of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. The role of dysfunctional family interactions in the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa has been given a prominent place in the research field. Evidence for a specific

An eating disorder is an obsessive collection of interrelated behaviors directed towards persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact one’s health, emotions, and ability to function in important areas of life. These compulsive practices and attitudes about food, weight and body shape, manifest into deep psychological fears and an incessant need for control. Some common features of eating disorders include an irrational fear of fat, dissatisfaction with one 's body often coupled with a distorted perception of body shape, unhealthy weight management and extreme food intake. This disordered eating behavior is usually an effort to solve a variety of emotional difficulties about which the individual feels out of control. Males and females of all social and economic classes, races and intelligence levels can develop an eating disorder (Perfect). There are currently three main types of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Each one as dangerous as the next, but yet heavily overlooked and/or misunderstood in society today (Perfect); A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011).

Children who had to nurture themselves from a young age don’t trust adults because they weren’t shown affection, which causes the child to have no healthy dependence on their parents, which then causes them to rely on the media to get a sense of self-worth. This self-worth is found in their physical appearance and it causes them to feel the need to starve themselves so they can “measure up to society’s standards.” This example is one of the hundreds of ways that a dysfunctional family can cause a girl to become anorexic. Another possible cause of anorexia is a lack of a sense of femininity. Women seem to find their sense of femininity from men. We look to men to tell us if we are beautiful, ugly, fat, skinny, etc. We tend to base our sense of femininity on our physical appearance which causes us to diet, wear “fashionable clothing,” and it can even cause us to starve ourselves. Fathers play a huge role in their daughters sense of femininity. Our fathers tell us we are valued as women, we are beautiful, and we are cherished. If you grow up with a deceased, absent, or disengaged father, you grow up with a huge hole in your femininity, which causes low self-esteem. The other main focus of Anatomy of Anorexia

Eating disorders are serious psychological conditions with grave consequences for the individuals affected by them. Eating disorders have a 20% mortality rate, with anorexia accounting for approximately 5.1 deaths per 1000 persons and bulimia accounting for 1.74 deaths per 1000 persons (Arcelus, J., Mitchell, A.J., Wales, J., & Nielsen, S., 2011; Trent, Moreira,

There are a number of warning signs that can be associated with any eating disorder such as: “body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, dieting, low self-esteem, maladaptive coping, reading teen fashion magazines, social pressure for thinness, social withdrawal, negative comments about eating, history of psychiatric disorders”(NEDA). With all these predetermined risk factors, it is easy to see why so many suffer from these disorders today. Anorexia can be described as the fixation of an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI); it is defined in the dictionary as “an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat”(Johnson). The National Eating Disorder Association cites a list of possible risk factors that were identified in a number of studies; among the list is perfectionism. Bulimia Nervosa also defined as an “emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight” is differentiated by its “bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting.”(Johnson). These disorders are rooted in mental and emotional health and are not confined to females or teenagers. Modern media has done a very good job of perpetuating a desirable body type for people of all sexes and ages. People who suffer from a number of the aforementioned risk factors may be more heavily influenced to abuse or neglect their bodies in efforts to achieve this sought after

Despite a substantial amount of research, clinicians are unable to come to a consensus on a sole etiology of eating disorders; therefore, it is theorized that eating disorders can be viewed as multi-determined. This theory indicates that the onset of eating disorders occurs due to a variety of predisposing factors, such as the family, psychological, athleticism, biological and socio-cultural components. In other words, there is an interplay of both genetic and environmental factors which ultimately influence the onset of eating disorders.

Much of the literature that focuses on the parents' role in the development of eating disorders is focused on the mother and the mother-daughter relationship. Studies have shown conclusively that a mother's body image and eating habits are, mirrored in her daughter, and that if she is obsessed with her own body image, it stands likely that her daughter will be the same way both growing up and in her adult life. The father, though, is often left out of the research except for in the basic family profile. Here, we will examine the active role that the father plays in the development of eating disorders in their daughters. First, we will explore why the father's ideas and

Eating disorders tend to run in families and female relatives are the most often to be affected. Some recent studies from researchers found that mothers who are too concerned about their children’s weight and appearance, it may put them at increased risk of developing an eating disorder. (Hoffman). Ultimately, genetic research may prove to be the key to unlocking our understanding of environmental risk factors for eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik). Multiple studies have been undertaken to that show possible genetic likeliness toward developing eating disorders as a result of inheritance (News Medical).