Childhood Psychopathology Paper

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

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.

Adolescence is a developmental stage, which is not defined merely by age. Some may even argue that many young adults with eating disorders are still in the midst of addressing the challenges of adolescence and indeed adolescent developmental difficulties have been thought to underlie the etiology of anorexia nervosa in particular. The essential features of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are consistent across the age spectrum – in terms of characteristic behaviors (dieting, bingeing, purging), specific psycho- pathology (over-evaluation of the self in terms of weight and shape) and non-specific features (low self-esteem, perfectionism, poor interpersonal confidence) (American Psychological Association, 2000). Much of the literature reports combined adolescent and adult case series without separate analysis. This makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly what differences are between children and adults as well as have an understanding of the developmental

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

There are behavioral similarities among individuals suffering from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa such as feeling they are in control where they may have lacked power or control in their lives, feeling more confident, and the ability to avoid uncomfortable emotions through disordered eating behavior. However, there are also significant differences. According to the articles, those who suffer from AN consistently communicate this disordered eating behavior makes them feel more attractive, increases confidence and elicits a feeling of superiority, where as those who suffer from BN more often communicate a negative self-image and feelings of shame and defectiveness. BN patients also conveyed their desire to keep their illness a secret whereas AN patients are generally more concerned with their thinness being obvious to others and gaining attention. BN is frequently accompanied by depression, and feelings of self-loathing indicating a high prevalence of comorbidity, and those suffering from this illness experience a disturbance in feeling satisfied with a

With children as early as age 7 showing dissatisfaction with their body, and as young as 9 starting dieting, eating disorders are a serious issue in our society. Taking a look at perceptions, behaviors, and medical issues associated with the disorders of anorexia and bulimia, scholars have tried to categorize and find answers to the problems which certain adolescents suffer. In this paper I focused on the two major eating disorders of anorexia and bulimia.

A positive correlation between child sexual abuse and disordered eating behaviors has been identified, as has a positive correlation between child sexual abuse and having a diagnosis of a clinical eating disorder. Child sexual abuse has been associated with the increase in displaying disordered eating behaviors and/or symptoms. Abuse experiences contribute to a woman’s development of bulimia, possibly because the woman is utilizing bulimia as a coping mechanism and an attempt to manage the emotional fallout from the abuse. Abuse survivors are

Pregnancy has often been viewed as a period of great developmental change for women. This is also a period in which previously dormant psychological issues rise to the surface and when current issues have the potential to worsen. Because anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa occur primarily in young women, many of whom are of childbearing age, it is important to evaluate the potential medical and psychological consequences when an eating disordered woman becomes pregnant. During pregnancy, conflicts about body changes, alterations in roles, additions of responsibility, and concerns about a woman’s own mothering abilities are prevalent. Many of these concerns are also of great importance

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Eating disorders have numerous emotional, psychological, and physical consequences; despite this, many affected individuals refuse to admit that they have a problem. One of the more serious problems associated with eating disorders that may convince a young woman to seek treatment, is the negative effect disordered eating can have on fertility, pregnancy, and child rearing in general. In multiple studies anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders not otherwise specified, have been associated with infertility, low maternal weight gain, low birth weight in infants, increased neonatal morbidity, and problems in infant feeding (Stewart, 1992). Women who are afflicted with an eating disorder at

This paper reviews the relationships among eating disorders, trauma, and comorbid psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There have been a number of significant conclusions in the literature, applicable to clinical practice, which are essential to the understanding of the relationships between generic eating disorders and some types of trauma. These are summarized as follows: a) children's sexual assault is a non-specific risk factor for most eating disorders; b) the level of trauma linked to those eating disorders has been extended from the child's sexual assault to include a multitude of different forms of assault/abuse and; c) trauma is much more common in bulimic eating disorders compared to a non-bulimic disorder; d) As such, those findings linking eating disorders with traumatic ones have been extended to both male and female children and adults with eating disorders; e) findings linking eating disorders with trauma have been extended to both male children and adult males with eating disorders; f) several episodes or types of trauma are associated with eating disorders; g) All trauma is not always associated with severe eating disorders; h) trauma is associated with greater comorbidity (including

32). By comparing people struggling with anorexia to a group of patients with psychiatric disorders, Zonnevylle-Bender et al. was able to determine that decreased emotional functioning is found not only in patients with anorexia nervosa but many people struggling with a general psychiatric disorder. “Emotional Functioning in Adolescent Anorexia Patients” is directed towards psychiatrists, psychologists, and other professions that play a main role in treating anorexia nervosa patients. By directing this study toward mental health specialists, Zonnevylle-Bender et al. is providing information that can increase the quality of care that is administered to those struggling with eating disorders. Zonnevylle-Bender and her colleagues are reliable because they all have Ph.D.’s in a variety of health science categories. Specifically, Zonnevylle-Bender works at the Rudolph Magnus Institute of Neuroscience and specialize in psychiatry. Overall, Zonnevylle-Bender and his coauthors write in a scientific tone, providing numerous definitions and in-depth data into emotional functioning and how it is

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are eating disorders that severely affect both men and women around the world. The cause of the eating disorder usually derives from psychological, biological and social forces. Eating disorders have become an epidemic in American society, twenty-four million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.\, 2011). There are many ways to address and treat an eating disorder. There have been multiple studies conducted to test the effectiveness of different types of treatment. My central research question analyzes the relationship between the continuation of the eating disorder with the presence of intervention or some

In a majority of the research articles studies were done on both patients with anorexia nervosa and patients with bulimia nervosa. During the research, as we will see, there was some difference in the comorbidity of personality disorders depending on whether the subjects were anorexic or bulimic.

The researchers established validity and reliability for the numerous subscales, questions, and items throughout the assessment by obtaining many subsamples of individuals with anorexia nervosa and bulimia and a control group of individuals that did not have the disorder and looking at the results between the two. The researchers took three subsamples of female patients with anorexia nervosa that were being treated at the time. The patients were all at different steps in their treatment plans but none of the individuals were fully recovered. The control group was made up of three subsamples of females that were attending a university that were in a freshman or sophomore level psychology course and completing the questionnaire was optional.