The prevalence of eating disorders among university students and the relationship with some individual characteristics

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) among university students in a rural area of Turkey and to compare groups based on the sociodemographic data, history of child abuse and neglect, family roles and self‐esteem with a normal control group re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry 2006-02, Vol.40 (2), p.129-135
Main Authors: Kugu, Nesim, Akyuz, Gamze, Dogan, Orhan, Ersan, Erdal, Izgic, Ferda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child maltreatment
childhood abuse and neglect
Eating disorders
family
Prevalence
Selfesteem
self‐esteem
Sociodemographic data
Undergraduate students
university students
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Summary:Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) among university students in a rural area of Turkey and to compare groups based on the sociodemographic data, history of child abuse and neglect, family roles and self‐esteem with a normal control group regarding EDs. Method: Subjects who were chosen by simple random sampling method were consisted of 980 Cumhuriyet University students who agreed to participate out of the 1003 total students and were given a sociodemographic information form and an Eating Attitudes Test (EAT). Students who scored above a cutoff level on the EAT were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV axis I Disorders (SCID‐I), Clinical Version. The Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, Family Assessment Device (FAD) and Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire Form were given to subjects in the control and study groups. Results: Seventy‐one of the 951 students (492 female, 459 male) who correctly filled out the EAT had a score above the cutoff level of 30 or higher. Of these 71 students, 21 (2.20%) were found to have an eating disorder based on the SCID‐I. No subjects were found to have anorexia nervosa. Eighteen of the 21 subjects were female. Of these 18 female students, 15 (1.57%) were found to have bulimia nervosa and three (0.31%) were found to have binge eating disorder (BED). All of the three male subjects were diagnosed with BED (0.31%). The self‐esteem of those in the study group was lower than those in the control group (p 
ISSN:0004-8674
1440-1614
DOI:10.1111/j.1440-1614.2006.01759.x