Intuitive eating is defined as an adaptive eating process that involves focusing on internal hunger and satiety to guide eating behavior, using those physiological cues rather than emotions to determine when to eat, and choosing what to eat based upon preference and not external rules and expectations. The purpose of this study was to examine intuitive eating within the context of contemporary sociocultural models of eating in 701 early adolescent boys and 769 early adolescent girls. Support was found for the model and suggested that pressures to lose weight or gain muscle, restrictive messages about food from caregivers, and internalization of the thin ideal were related to the early adolescents’ intuitive eating behaviors, suggesting that many of the sociocultural variables that have been found to impact disordered eating are salient for understanding healthy eating behaviors. However, the relations among many of the variables, as well as the model’s ability to explain intuitive eating overall, were stronger in girls than in boys. These findings can be used to help parents and schools begin to teach early adolescents about intuitive eating and how they can resist external pressures that may negatively influence their eating behaviors.

Athletes may be at increased risk for developing disordered eating and pathogenic weight control behaviors due to pressure for their bodies to look a certain way and perform at a high level (Sundgot-Borgen & Torstveit, 2004). Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) proposed a psychosocial model to explain the development of athletes’ disordered eating behaviors. Specifically, they suggested that unique weight/body pressures of the sport environment, general societal pressures about attractiveness, internalization of societal appearance ideals, body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, negative affect, and dietary restraint combine and contribute to the development of bulimic symptomatology. The aim of the current study is to test the Petrie and Greenleaf model in a large, nation-wide, diverse sample of male collegiate athletes. Participants were male collegiate athletes (N = 731; Mage = 19.91, SD = 1.50) representing 17 sports and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I, II, and III. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and measures designed to assess their experiences of the above constructs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the pathways proposed in the Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) etiological model. Results suggest that sport pressures, such as those from coaches and teammates about weight, the importance of appearance, and looking good in a uniform, are significant factors in understanding disordered eating among male collegiate athletes. These pressures were related directly to all other variables in the model, including increased body dissatisfaction, experiencing more negative emotions, restricting caloric intake, and engaging in behaviors to increase muscularity. In the end, it was these variables – negative affect, drive for muscularity, dietary restraint, and body dissatisfaction– that explained over 30% of the variance in the athletes’ bulimic symptomatology.

Bakgrund: Anorexia Nervosa är en psykiatrisk sjukdom som främst drabbar unga kvinnor mellan 15 och 23 år med hög mortalitet. Sjukdomen orsakar ätstörning vilket medför kraftig viktnedgång. Syftet: Syftet är att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av att leva med Anorexia Nervosa. Metod: Denna studie är genomförd av kvalitativ metod med analys av narratives. Datainsamlingen är baserad på fyra självbiografier skrivna av kvinnor som drabbats av Anorexia Nervosa. Resultat: Resultatet visade att samtliga kvinnor har haft olika upplevelser av Anorexia Nervosa. Kvinnornas upplevelser delas in i tre olika teman vilket förtydligades med citat. Teman som beskrivs avspelar kvinnors olika upplevelser. De teman som uppkom var Det svåruppnåeliga kvinnoidealet, Den ångestfyllda tillvaron, Betydelsen av att ha kontroll. Slutsats: Anorexia är en komplex psykiatrisk sjukdom som kräver en optimal omvårdnad med beredskap och förståelse från vårdpersonal. Sjuksköterskor strävar efter att förhindra ett lidande och främja hälsa i vårdandet av patienter. Studiens resultat bidrog med en bredare kunskap och förståelse kring sjukdomen Anorexia Nervosa för en optimal återhämtning hos patient. / Background: Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder that primarily affects young women between 15 and 23 years with high mortality. The disease causes eating disorder resulting in significant weight loss. Purpose: Purpose of the study was to describe women's experiences of living with anorexia nervosa. Method: This study was conducted by qualitative method of analysis of narratives. Data collection was based on four autobiographies written by women who have lived with Anorexia Nervosa. Results: The results showed that all women have had different experiences of Anorexia Nervosa. This experiences were divided into three different themes which are clarified with quote. Themes described reflects women's different experiences with anorexia nervosa, which is the elusive ideal of women, the anguished existence and the importance of being in control. Conclusion: Anorexia is a complex psychiatric illness that requires an optimum care of preparedness and understanding of health professionals. Nurses strive to prevent suffering and promote health in the care of patients. The study's results contributed to a wider knowledge and understanding of the disease anorexia nervosa for optimal recovery of the patient.

Bakgrund: Upp till 25 % av alla barn har någon gång under uppväxten någon typ av uppfödningsproblem.  Begreppet uppfödningsproblem brukar innefatta någon form av svårighet med att suga, tugga och svälja och delas ofta in i olika kategorier beroende på symtombild eller tänkt orsak. Symtomen eller den möjliga orsaken får sedan avgöra hur man väljer att behandla problemet. Spektrumet är stort vid uppfödningsproblem, alltifrån svårigheter som inte leder till några egentliga hälsorisker för barnet till allvarliga svårigheter som leder till undernäring och behov av alternativ nutrition.                                         Syfte: Beskriva gruppen barn med uppfödningsproblem vars föräldrar sökt hjälp hos Specialist Barnavårdscentral (SpecialBVC) och att jämföra föräldrarnas upplevelse av problemet före respektive efter avslutad kontakt med denna. Även att undersöka om medicinska och sociala faktorer hos barnet och föräldrar eller olika vårdprocessmått hade samband med föräldrars upplevelse av uppfödningsproblemets svårighetsgrad efter avslutad kontakt.                                                                                                                      Metod: Deskriptiv, komparativ longitudinell studie på redan insamlat material.         Resultat: Det fanns en skillnad i upplevelsen av uppfödningsproblemets svårighetsgrad hos föräldrar efter avslutad kontakt med SpecialBVC. Analysen visade en signifikant positiv förändring av föräldrarnas upplevelse av problemets svårighetsgrad vid jämförelse före respektive efter avslutad kontakt med SpecialBVC. I populationen för den deskriptiva analysen hade 13  % av mödrarna depression och 17  % annan psykisk ohälsa. Många familjer (32 %) hade ett sviktande nätverk. Förekomst av dessa faktorer hos föräldrar vid uppfödningsproblem hos barn stöds i annan forskning.                                            Slutsats: Föräldrarna upplevde att uppfödningsproblemets svårighetsgrad minskade både för barnet och för familjen efter kontakt med SpecialBVC. En förklaring kan vara SpecialBVCs arbetssätt. För att kunna förstå patienten rätt och därmed kunna hjälpa behöver enligt Joyce Travelbee (1971) en relation uppstå mellan patient och behandlare. SpecialBVCs arbetssätt att genom hembesök med noggrann anamnesupptagning, planering av behandling utifrån familjens resurser samt uppföljning på det sätt som passar familjen ligger väl i linje med Joyce Travelbees Interaktionsteori. / Background: Up to 25 % of all children have at some time during childhood some type of eating difficulties. The concept of eating difficulties usually include some form of difficulty with sucking, chewing and swallowing. Eating difficulties are often divided into different categories depending on symptoms or the supposed cause. The symptoms or the possible cause to, decides how to treat the child. The spectrum is wide for eating difficulties, ranging from difficulties that do not lead to any real health risk, to severe difficulties leading to malnutrition and the need for alternative nutrition.                                                 Purpose: To describe the group of children with food problems whose parents sought help from specialist Child health (SpecialBVC) and comparing the parent's perception of food problems before and after completion of contact with SpecialBVC. Also see if the medical and social factors in the child and parent, and various health care processes measures related with the parent's perception of the difficulty of the food problem after finishing the contact. Method: Descriptive, comparative longitudinal study on the already collected material. Results: There was a difference in the experience of the severity of the food problem of parents after completing contact with SpecialBVC. This difference was significant. The study population had a high percentage of maternal depression or other mental illnesses. Many families had a failing network. These factors among parents supports the already done research on breeding problems in children.                                                        Conclusion: Parents perception of the severity of the food problem for both the child and family decreased after contact with SpecialBVC. One explanation may be SpecialBVCs approach that can be transferred in Joycee Travelbees interaction theory. To properly understand the patient seeking care, and thus able to help must first be a relationship-interaction occur. The result is a mutual contact and understanding that health care is based on forward.

No description available.

This thesis reports five studies investigating cognitive processes in eating disorder (ED) psychopathology. Chapter 1 describes background information about EDs. Chapter 2 reviews cognitive theories of Anorexia Nervosa (AN), and discusses how integration of a process-focused framework, originally applied to depression, may advance under-standing of maintaining mechanisms in AN. Chapter 3 reports a focus group with AN patients that explores features of the subjective experience of the disorder. Findings highlight ruminative, avoidant and discrepancy-based thinking: features that are suggested to be indicative of a ‘conceptualising’ mode of processing. Patients’ reports suggest positive effects of a body-mindfulness group, which encourages an alternative, ‘experiential’ mode of processing. Chapter 4 presents data on rumination, experiential avoidance, negative self-beliefs and underlying assumptions in an analogue population and shows elevated levels for ED-concerned individuals on all of these measures. Chapter 5 examines mode of processing effects (conceptual vs. experiential) in an analogue population. Findings show differential stress-induced emotional reactivity, particularly in the ED-concerned group. Chapter 6 investigates mode of processing effects in a sample of AN patients. Results confirm that modes of processing have differential effects on stress-induced emotional reactivity. Chapter 7 presents data from a 10-month follow-up of AN patients. This study shows that changes in ED-symptoms are associated with changes in rumination, avoidance and aspects of schematic thinking. Differential stress-induced reactivity is associated with outcome. Finally, chapter 8 discusses theoretical and clinical implications of this research and the mode of processing framework in EDs, particularly AN, as well describing how future investigations may continue integrating this framework to the study of ED psycho-pathology. The current findings suggest that both cognitive-affective content and the underlying mental processing activity need consideration in cognitive models of EDs.

The incidence of bulimia seems to be increasing dramatically as actors, models, dancers, and college populations are seeking help for this eating disorder. In this study, the Adjective Checklist was administered to 21 bulimic women and 17 normal women to compare personality characteristics on the following scales: abasement, affiliation, autonomy, achievement, aggression, personal adjustment, succorance, and self-control. Results showed bulimic women scored higher on abasement and succorance. A multiple regression was performed which elucidated the scales responsible for the greatest amount of variance. These were aggression, autonomy, and self-control. Further studies of personality measures may aid in describing this population more fully.

Religiousness is one potential, understudied psychosocial correlate of eating disorders. To assess associations between religiousness and eating disorders, this study developed the Religious Attendance and Belief Scale (Rel-AB), and examined its psychometric properties. Women from a large population-based sample (N = 1510; M(age) = 42.5) completed subscales measuring (1) belief in a personal and loving God, and (2) attendance at religion-related activities, as well as eating disorder measures. Belief was negatively associated with eating disorder symptomatology among women meeting broadly defined criteria for bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders and religiousness were not associated in the overall sample, and associations were largely nonsignificant among participants meeting criteria for other eating disorders. Overall, results indicated that the Rel-AB Scale has good psychometric properties and is useful for the assessment of religiousness in both research and treatment settings. The utility of including religiousness in the conceptualization of an individual and potential treatment options is discussed.

The current investigation used qualitative methodology to examine adolescent girls’ perceptions of control over their eating, as well as triggers, and consequences of binge and related eating behaviors. Focus groups were completed with 19 adolescent girls (aged 13-17, 58% African American, 41% White) who endorsed the behaviors. Responses to focus group questions were qualitatively analyzed using a grounded theory approach and constant comparison coding. Results reflected a fundamental lack of awareness of the loss of control (LOC) eating behaviors. Yet, the data did reflect a central theme of the need to affirm independence and autonomy through eating behaviors via three distinct pathways; asserting physical, emotional, and relational control with food. Each strategy produces different positive and negative consequences regarding emotions and physical sensations. This study suggests that adolescent need for autonomy interacts with a sense of feeling out of control of one’s external environment and insufficient coping mechanisms may increase susceptibility to maladaptive eating behaviors.

Although a variety of factors influence the development of eating disorders, genetic factors contribute notably to their etiology. Understanding genetic factors associated with eating disorders is important, as they can influence how these disorders are recognized, researched, and treated. This dissertation included two studies addressing important questions within the fields of eating disorders and genetics; specifically, Study 1 addressed the prevalence and heritability of purging and purging disorder in a population-based sample of female twins from the United States; and Study 2 investigated the nature of the co-morbidity between anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive personality disorder in a population-based sample of female twins from Norway. Twin methodology was applied for both studies. Univariate analyses, a bivariate Cholesky decomposition, and an item-factor modeling approach were used. Results from Study 1 revealed estimates of 3.0%, 3.4%, 3.7%, and 11.5% for self-induced vomiting, laxative and diuretic abuse, and excessive exercise, respectively. Laxative abuse was more strongly influenced by common environmental effects, while liability to excessive exercise was more strongly influenced by common genetic factors. Due to insufficient data, an item-factor model of purging disorder did not yield conclusive results. In Study 2, the phenotypic correlation between anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive personality disorder was 0.08. A bivariate Cholesky decomposition revealed that an AE-AEre model best fit the data, indicating that additive genetic effects moderately contribute to both anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive personality disorder individually but that these genetic influences are not shared between the two disorders. In addition, this model suggests that the slight overlap in liability between the two disorders is entirely accounted for by unique environmental effects and error. These results provide preliminary findings on important topics within the field of eating disorders and genetics research. Further study of the heritability of purging and purging disorder, as well as the nature of the co-morbidity between anorexia nervosa and obsessive compulsive personality disorder, is needed in large population-based samples. Better understanding the etiology of disordered eating and frequently co-occurring diagnoses, both at the diagnosis and symptom level, might have the potential to inform classification and treatment.