Attitudes toward bulimic behaviors in two generations: The role of knowledge, body mass, gender, and bulimic symptomatology

The perceived commonality and acceptability of symptoms of bulimia, as well as associated variables including gender, generation, knowledge of bulimia, body mass index, and bulimic symptomatology, were assessed. These views were explored in a sample of college students ( N = 155 male; N = 173 female...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addictive behaviors 1997-07, Vol.22 (4), p.491-507
Main Authors: Vander Wal, Jillon S., Thelen, Mark H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attitude
Attitude towards mental illness
Attitudes
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Body Mass Index
Bulimia
Bulimia - psychology
Cohort Effect
Cross-Sectional Studies
Family Health
Feeding Behavior - psychology
Female
Generations
Humans
Knowledge
Male
Matched-Pair Analysis
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Parents - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Regression Analysis
Sex Factors
Sexes
Social Desirability
Social Perception
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
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Summary:The perceived commonality and acceptability of symptoms of bulimia, as well as associated variables including gender, generation, knowledge of bulimia, body mass index, and bulimic symptomatology, were assessed. These views were explored in a sample of college students ( N = 155 male; N = 173 female) and their parents ( N = 194 mothers; N = 163 fathers). Females perceived bulimic symptoms to be more common than males, and students perceived them to be more common than their parents. Students perceived bulimic symptoms to be more acceptable than their parents. Females had higher levels of bulimic symptomatology, particularly daughters. Stepwise simultaneous regression analyses revealed that one's own level of bulimic symptomatology was the primary predictor of one's attitudes toward the commonality and acceptability of bulimic symptoms. Bulimic symptomatology was primarily predicted from perceptions of the acceptability of bulimic symptoms and body mass index. Results suggest that college-age students may be at greater risk for the development of bulimia nervosa because of their greater tolerance of these symptoms: alternatively, people endorsing higher levels of bulimic symptomatology may adjust their attitudes, perceiving bulimic symptoms to be more tolerable, in order to alleviate the dissonance between their attitudes and behaviors.
ISSN:0306-4603
1873-6327
DOI:10.1016/S0306-4603(96)00062-7