Eating Attitudes 26 Item Test example essay topic

Eating Disorders are extremely prevalent in today's society. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are characterized by gross disturbances in eating behavior. These disorders typically begin in adolescence or early adult life, affecting as many as '1 in 100 females between the ages of 12 and 18 (Bronwell & Foreyt 312). ' Anorexia Nervosa is a complex disorder where the refuses to maintain body weight over a normal weight for age and height.

Also present, is an intense fer of gaining weight or becoming fat (Waller, Quinton, & Watson 127). People of this disorder say they 'feel fat " even though they are obviously underweight or even emaciated. They become preoccupied with their body size and are usually dissatisfied with some feature of their physical appearance (Bronwell & Foreyt 322). Weight loss is accomplished by a reduction of food intake. Self-induced vomiting or use of laxatives or diuretics are also common methods used to achieve weight loss.

Many people with this disorder minimize the severity of their illness and are uninterested in, or resistant, to any type of therapy (Waller, Quinton, & Watson 152). Severe weight loss may eventually lead to hospitalization to prevent death by starvation. Bulimia Nervosa is a disorder in which the individual has recurrent episodes of binge eating. Self-induced vomiting usually terminates the binge (Bronwell & Forey 335).

Vomiting decreases the physical abdominal pain that occurs after an individual binges. Although binges may, self-criticism and a depressed mood often follow. People with this disorder exhibit great concern about their weight and make repeated attempts to control it by dieting, vomiting, or the use of diuretics (Bronwell & Forey 342). Weight fluctuations are common due to alternating fasts and binges. These people often feel that their life is dominated by conflicts surrounding eating. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) is a reliable and valid measure of symptoms commonly found in an eating disorder.

The test was designed by Garner and Garfinkle in 1979. It was designed as a screening device for the detection of clinical eating disorders (Boyadjieva & Steinhausen 1996). Many clinicians have suggested that eating disorders are caused by extreme body focus. The EAT-26 is a twenty-six item test which focuses on body self-evaluation (Beebe, Holmbeck, Lane, & Rosa 1996). High EAT-26 scores were associated with an increased number of 'fat' or " thin' feelings. Negative feelings of others after dieting were also noted.

Women with eating disorders may tend to focus on others' body shapes. They may also expect others to be as emotionally invested in body shapes as they themselves are (Beebe, Holmbeck, Scholar, Lane, &Rosa 1996). 'Clinicians have suggested that anorexia and bulimia, while behaviorally distinct, share a common core pathology; women with both disorders are preoccupied with body weight and shape (Beebe, Holmbeck, Scholar, Lane, & Rosa 1996). ' A sample of university women completed the Eating Attitudes 26-item test. Items focused on personal perception on body shape and weight. It was predicted that the relationship between EAT-26 scores and reactions to dieting situations are stronger when applied directly to the self than when applied specifically to others (Beebe, Holmbeck, Scholar, Lane, & Rosa 1996).

Present data supports the idea that individuals who scored high on the EAT-26 reported noticing more weight-related information in other women. They also expect other women to evaluate themselves on the basis of weight and shape. Perfectionism is also a characterization by a relentless struggle of a thin body which include a high degree of perfectionism. A recent approach views perfectionism in three components: '91) self-oriented perfectionism- the holding of unrealistic expectations for others; and (2) other- oriented perfectionism- the holding of unrealistic expectations for others; and (3) socially prescribed perfectionism- a perceived need to attain standards and expectations prescribed by significant others (Pliner & Haddock 1996). ' Patients feelings of unworthiness results from not living up to expectations. Such feelings of success and self-worth are related to meeting external standards.

Undergraduate women were used in a study to look at the three levels of perfectionism. High EAT subjects were thought to adopt the experimenter's goals as their own. If anorexics have high standards set for them by others and are higher on 'self-oriented perfectionism,' they should set higher personal goals. Low EAT subjects should not adopt other's standards to such a high degree. High EAT subjects would adhere more strongly to their goals (Pliner & Haddock 1996) The results om the goal specific experiment showed that high EAT subjects tended to set lower goals than low EAT subjects. Women who are weight concerned are socially perfect.

They tend to succumb to unrealistic standards of them set by others. High EAT subjects who set these unrealistic goals for themselves tended to create a situation where failure was unlikely. They were also more affected by failure feedback. With negative feedback came feelings of depression. Anorexics are to the opinions of others. Performance standards are readily accepted, and social approval is extremely important (Pliner & Haddock 1996).

The relentless pursuit of a thin body is an attempt to obtain social approval by conforming to the characteristics of a socially attractive body. Families of anorexics are also extremely important in the treatment process. Families tend to avoid conflict and present a facade of togetherness. Mothers tend to be overprotective and domineering. Individual privacy is nonexistent. 'Discipline and achievement in children are valued more than their maturation or independence (Shugar &Kroeger 1995).

' Systemic family therapy hopes to treat anorexia by changing family communication style to a more open and approach. Weight gain and improved attitudes will occur with communication modification (Shugar & Dragger 1996). This is extremely difficult to accomplish because family members deny the existence of any type of conflict. Family life may be described as very harmonious and close. A study of fifteen subjects ranging in age from 13 to 16 were given the EAT test. Each subject and family members attended a 60 minute therapy session weekly for 12 to 14 weeks in systemic family therapy.

Subjects' initial and final weights were reported along with the EAT-26 scores. All showed significant improvements. As communication improved, weight gain and more positive eating attitudes erupted (Shugar & Kraegar 1996). This study gave additional support to the theory that the family communication style behavior are interrelated. In contrast to Anorexia, it has been proposed that bulimic behavior serves the function to reduce awareness in threatening situations.

Women with higher bulimic tendencies were slower to respond to threatening words. No such effect was reported on women with less bulimic attitudes (Waller, Quinton, & Watson 1995). The triggered perception of threat may be due to an actual past or present traumatic experience such as sexual conflict, major change in life, or loss of a loved one. In an experiment, 100 female undergraduates were given the body mass index and the EAT-26. Each participant scored within the mean average on the body mass index and the sub scales of bulimia, oral control, and dieting for the EAT-26 test. The EAT-26 was used to provide evidence in a link to bulimic characteristics (Waller, Quinton, & Watson 1995).

This study is aimed to determine the correlations between bulimic eating attitudes and the possible disassociation of threat-related information among women who were not diagnosed with an eating disorder: the correlation was positive, but suggested that other factors besides the processing of threatening information are required to explain bulimic attitudes. Because of this, the high-bulimia group was more likely to be affected by the threatening word ('Waller, Quinton, & Watson 1995). Within the non-eating disordered group, more bulimic attitudes are associated with the slowed processing of threatening information. They are also more likely to 'expect' threat to be present. In conclusion, these findings do support the theory that bulimic attitudes may reflect an escape from awareness from threat (Waller, Quinton, & Watson 1995). Eating disorders are not only in the Western world.

There have been cases reported in Berlin, Sofia, and Zurich (Boyadjieva &Steinhausen 1996). The EAT was given to three nonclinical groups at these sites. The test measured three different scales: diet, bulimia, and oral control. The test is designed to detect potential clinical or subclinical eating disorders. High scores on these subjects would detect these potential patients (Boyadjieva & Steinhausen 1996). The tests showed that the groups tested may have been exposed to a higher risk for the development of weight concern eating disorders.

These scores may be a result of recent societal changes in eastern Europe. These types of disorders were taboo, because it was thought that these types of disorders only existed in the upper class. There are limited treatment facilities available for disordered patients, so more studies of this kind must be done to educate, eliminate, and treat present patients (Boyadjieva & Steinhausen 1996). Recent studies have also been done in Asia to study the control of family members in determining unhealthy eating attitudes. 'Asian schoolgirls (aged 14-16 years) living in the United Kingdom show greater levels of eating psychopathology than Caucasian girls, with higher scores on the EAT and higher prevalence of diagnosable cases of eating disorders (McCourt &Waller 1995). ' This is thought to be a product of a 'culture clash.

' Parents are also more likely to enforce their values on their children. These efforts contrast with the child's attempt to identify with the Western culture. Resulting, is a loss of control of external events which makes the child more likely to gain internal control by disturbed eating patterns. Once again, the EAT-26 was given to 406 girls who attended schools in England. As a result, the Asian girls had more unhealthy eating patterns overall. Parental overprotection showed a significant effect upon the results.

Ethical differences did remain significant (McCourt & Waller 1995). Poor eating attitudes are also a product of the contradicting social pressures that affect the whole family. Asian girls found their mother to be, thus it was the mother who attempted to control the children's behavior. It is not yet known whether these perceptions are correlated with reality. However, the possible influences may be used during family therapy (McCourt & Waller 1995). Eating disorders are in many different kinds of cultures.

There are many internal and external factors that play into the disorder. The EAT-26 is a reliable test used in detecting possible disordered eating patterns in individuals. With this disorder on the rise, these tests are needed in the detection of the unhealthy patterns. Detection leads to education, which leads to intervention, which leads to eventual termination.