M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / The aim of this study was to determine whether a group of patients with anorexia nervosa would differ from a group of well-adjusted adolescent girls in terms of certain personality traits. In a survey of the literature the general symptoms, incidence, treatment methods and prognoses were discussed. Anorexia nervosa was found to be a complex syndrome consisting of many physical and psychological symptoms. Integrated treatment methods were found to produce the best results, although the prognosis was found to be relatively poor. The background factors were discussed, with special emphasis on the family background and premorbid personality factors. In a discussion of the etiology, the psychodynamic approach was stressed. The traditional psycho-analytical theories were discussed initially, followed by a more detailed discussion of the control theory. The premise of this theory is that the anorexia nervosa patient ceases to eat in an effort to obtain control over her own body as well as her environment. Due to a lack of comparative empirical studies, it was decided to utilize the Rorschach test to compare eleven patients with anorexia nervosa with eleven well-adjusted adolescent girls with regard to certain psycho-dynamic characteristics...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:12129 |
| Date | 27 August 2014 |
| Creators | Janse van Rensburg, Andries Petrus |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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