Browsing by Subject "Eating disorders"
Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Bulimic bodies and “bearers of production” : representing bulimia in Todd Haynes’s Superstar: the Karen Carpenter story and Mika Rottenberg’s NoNoseKnows(2018-08-03) Sparapani, Grace Mi; Reynolds, Ann MorrisThe majority of literature on eating disorders has favored anorexia over bulimia, assuming self-starvation as the default mechanism of eating disorders, and placing bulimia in anorexia’s shadows, presuming that the the two disorders must have the same motives and reasons, despite being drastically disparate in process. This thesis asks: Must all eating disorders be placed in the realm of starvation? After Karen Carpenter’s untimely death in 1983 after an overuse of Ipecac, she has become known as the first public face of anorexia. Discussions of Carpenter are often tautological, with her diagnosis as anorexic turning the spotlight on her controlling mother and low weight, as they are two main components often found in theories of anorexia; this focus then makes anorexia seem to be the obvious— even only —diagnosis. The main process of her disorder—purging rather than fasting—is forgotten. Similarly, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), a film by Todd Haynes which uses Barbie dolls to reenact Karen’s life and stardom leading up to her death, describes Carpenter as anorexic, even though images of Ex-Lax, Ipecac, and toilets populate the film. This thesis uses the visuals of Superstar and of the video NoNoseKnows (2015) by artist Mika Rottenberg, in which a 6’4” fetish performer repeatedly sneezes out plates of noodles after her sneeze reflex is triggered by a pulley-powered fan that blows pollen in her face, to examine bulimia in the context of waste and production. I argue that the bulimic body is not a deprived body, but a body that is too full; it is not a body defined by a lack of intake, but by an almost impossible excess of output. I then examine Carpenter’s life, her unfulfillments and alienations, to find what other aspects have fallen between the cracks of other anorexia-centered narratives, and reveal what other interpretations of her life can be made and what connections can be found using a new context for her disorder.Item A community of starvation : the convergence of teenage girls on pro-eating disorder websites(2007-05) Grant, Brea Colleen, 1981-; Engelhardt, Elizabeth S. D. (Elizabeth Sanders Delwiche), 1969-In this paper, I will explore the topic of young women and eating disorders. I will specifically focus on the use of the Internet as a place for these women to express the new idea of being pro-eating disorder, as in choosing to have an eating disorder. These women create pages to encourage others to maintain their eating disorders and to find a community that will do the same for them. I studied over 20 pages created for this purpose in this paper. I begin by finding the similarities in the pro-eating disorder websites and the possible cultural situations that have allowed for these types of websites to emerge in such great number. In the second chapter of this paper, I am interested in the ways in which these websites form communities for those who participate in them, both in a silent and active way. The nature of the Internet creates a new type of community for those who choose to be involved in the pro-eating disorder discussion. In the last chapter of this paper, I studied pro-ed pages on the social networking site, Myspace. I was able to compare the Myspace pages that centered on an individual and those in the previous chapters that express the needs of a community.Item Cultural components of body dissatisfaction in ethnically diverse women : moving beyond weight focused body image(2021-12-02) Sotiriou, Elysia Georges; Awad, Germine H.; Bearman, Sarah Kate; Cokley, Kevin O; Mihalopoulos, Nicole LCultural body dissatisfaction concerns salient to ethnic minority women are often unrecognized or overlooked by researchers and healthcare providers conditioned to view body dissatisfaction as synonymous with weight dissatisfaction. A culturally-inclusive understanding of body dissatisfaction has broad implications for better identifying individuals at risk for developing eating disorders and comorbid conditions, reforming etiological frameworks of eating pathology and body image disturbance, increasing efficacy of preventative approaches and treatment interventions, and decreasing ethnic health disparities. The purposes of the current investigation are twofold; to illustrate the salience of cultural body dissatisfaction concerns and weight-focused body dissatisfaction concerns among a sample of Black, Latina, Asian, and White female undergraduate students, and to explore the extent to which ethnic group membership, BMI, sociocultural appearance-related pressure (i.e., family, peers, and media), weight-focused body dissatisfaction concerns, and cultural body dissatisfaction concerns predict eating disorder symptomology, body dysmorphia, and cosmetic surgery attitudes among ethnic minority participants. MANCOVA analyses and hierarchical linear regressions were used to analyze data obtained from online survey responses of 313 diverse undergraduate women. Results illustrated the presence of statistically significant differences in levels of endorsement on both cultural and weight-focused body dissatisfaction concerns between ethnic groups, specifically for cultural size and shape concerns, skin tone and facial features, the hourglass ideal, eye concerns, and thin ideal internalization. Both cultural and weight-focused body dissatisfaction concerns emerged as significant predictors for eating disorder symptomology, however, weight-focused concerns played no significant role in relation to body dysmorphia or cosmetic surgery attitudes among ethnic minority participants. The cultural concerns shown to be statistically significant predictors among participants of color for body dysmorphia and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery were cultural size and shape concerns and the hourglass ideal. The absence of cultural components from body image investigations and screening measures hinders the ability to reliably and holistically comprehend how body dissatisfaction presents and influences the actions, attitudes, and development of body and eating comorbidities affecting ethnically diverse women. Recognition of cultural body dissatisfaction concerns could help reduce ethnic health disparities in identification and treatment of body image disturbance and eating pathology impacting the American healthcare system.Item My body is a temple : eating disturbances, religious involvement and mental health among young adult women(2007-08) Henderson, Andrea Katheryn; Regnerus, MarkA growing body of literature outlines the undesirable health consequences of eating disturbances. However, little attention has been given to the possible mitigating effects of cultural institutions, such as religion, in the lives of women suffering from such pathologies. In this study, I contribute to this gap by asking, "What is the relationship between eating disturbances, religious involvement and mental health?" I address this question by: (a) outlining a series of arguments linking eating disturbances, specific aspects of religious involvement, and mental health; (b) identifying several distinct hypotheses from this discussion; and (c) empirically testing these relevant hypotheses with a nationally representative sample of young adult women in the US. I find that various aspects of religious involvement mitigates the deleterious effects of eating disturbances on depression and self-esteem, lending support for the moderating (buffering) model. I conclude by identifying the limitations of the present study and by suggesting promising directions for future research.Item Predictors of eating disorders in college-aged women : the role of competition and relational aggression(2012-08) Scaringi, Vanessa; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Rude, Stephanie S.; Whittaker, Tiffany; Awad, Germine H.; Denoma, Jill H.The serious consequences and high prevalence rates of eating disorders among women have been well documented (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Birmingham, Su, Hlynasky, Goldner, & Gao, 2005; Crow, Praus, & Thuras, 1999; Steinhausen, 2009). Factors linked to the development of an eating disorder include competitiveness and group membership (Basow, Foran ,& Bookwala, 2007; Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, Grunberg, & Rodin, 1990). The purpose of this study was to further examine risk factors associated with eating disorder symptomatology by examining the role of sorority membership, different forms of competition, and relational aggression. Sorority membership was hypothesized to impact a participant’s eating disorder symptomatology, competitiveness, and relational aggression. Additionally, this study looked at three different forms of competition (Hypercompetition, Female Competition for mates, and Female Competition for status) and sought to understand which form of competitiveness best predicts eating disorder symptomatology. Female Competition for mates was hypothesized to best predict disordered eating. Lastly, relational aggression was expected to moderate the relationship between competition among women and eating disorder behaviors. An increase in relational aggression was hypothesized to strengthen the relationship between competition among women and eating disorder symptomatology. The reasoning for this relationship was based on an evolutionary framework that proposes aggression is needed to drive competition (Shuster, 1983). Participants included 407 undergraduate women, with a split of 211 sorority members and 196 non-sorority women. Measures included four subscales from the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner et al., 1983), the Hypercompetitive Attitudes Scale (Ryckman et al., 1996), the Female Competition for mates scale, the Female Competition for status scale (Faer et al., 2005), and the Indirect Aggression Scale (Forrest et al., 2005). Separate regression analyses were conducted to answer each research question. Participants also answered qualitative questions after completing the surveys. Analyses revealed sorority membership significantly predicted a participant’s Female Competition for status. Female Competition for mates was found to best predict both body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness such that the higher a participant’s competition for mates score, the lower these eating disorder symptoms. No moderating effects of relational aggression were found in the model. Additionally, social desirability was included in the regressions as a means of controlling for a participant’s tendency to self-report desirably. An important surprise finding was that social desirability was a significant predictor of eating disorder symptomatology, competition, and relational aggression. Exploratory qualitative analyses suggested women’s acceptance of their bodies, while their conversations with friends included self-deprecating ways of discussing their appearance. Findings also suggest sorority membership predicts higher female competition for mates and status. Results reveal a relationship between competition and disordered eating which suggests important considerations for clinicians to explore with clients who may experience eating disorder symptomatology.Item Predictors of eating disorders in college-aged women : the role of competition and relational aggression(2010-05) Scaringi, Vanessa; Rude, Stephanie Sandra; Rochlen, AaronDue to the seriousness and prevalence of eating disorders, exploring the etiology of these disorders and identifying specific at-risk populations is crucial. One promising risk factor that has been linked to the development of eating disorders is competitiveness (Burckle, Ryckman, Gold, Thornton, & Audesse, 1999; Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, Grunberg, & Rodin, 1990). Additionally, specific populations of women have been shown to experience higher rates of eating disorders. Women in sororities are one such group identified with higher rates of disordered eating than their non-sorority counterparts (Basow, Foran, Bookwala, 2007; Crandall,1988; Schulken, Pinciaro, Sawyer, Jensen, & Hoban, 1997). Therefore this study will seek to understand more about how competitiveness may differentially impact this population of women and contribute to higher rates of eating disorder symptomatology. This project has several objectives. First, the prevalence of eating disorders, competition among women, and relational aggression among women in sororities will be addressed. In order to assess whether women in sororities differ from women who are not in sororities on measures of eating disorders symptomatology, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be conducted. The constructs of competitiveness and relational aggression will be compared amongwomen in sororities and their non-sorority counterparts. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) will be conducted to determine whether there are mean differences between women in sororities and those not on four constructs of competitiveness (hypercompetitiveness, personal development competitiveness, female competition for status competitiveness, and female competition for mates competitiveness). Finally, an ANOVA will be conducted to determine if there are mean differences between women in sororities and women not in sororities on a measure of relational aggression. The second focus of this project is to examine if different forms of competitiveness are better at predicting eating disorders. The constructs of competitiveness that have been individually demonstrated to predict eating disorder behavior will be included. Multiple regression will be used to examine how well knowing a participant’s type of competitive attitude will help explain eating disorder symptomatology. Lastly, because the literature has not yet explored how relational aggression relates to the development of eating disorders, the final purpose of this study will be to understand this relationship. In attempting to understand this relationship, a mediation model will be performed. Participants for this study will include 270 undergraduate women from the Educational Psychology subject pool.Item The relationship between self-compassion and disordered eating behaviors : body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, and contingent self-worth as mediators(2011-12) Finley-Straus, Angela Danielle; Neff, Kristin; Bigler, Rebecca; Drum, Dave; Falbo, Toni; Rochlen, AaronThe concept of self-compassion has been gathering interest for researchers in recent years, as it appears to offer an array of benefits to wellbeing. This study investigated the potential role of self-compassion as a protective factor against disordered eating behaviors. It also examined the mediating roles of three potential variables: body dissatisfaction, perfectionism and contingent self-worth. Given modern representations of the female ideal, failure to achieve or adequately conform to such standards often poses psychological challenges for women and girls. Self-compassion encompasses kind, mindful self-treatment and may be an ideal protective factor against disordered eating. It has also been linked with lower body dissatisfaction, maladaptive perfectionism, and contingent self-worth. The present study found that dissatisfaction with one’s body, as well as a tendency to judge one’s personal worth based on appearance fully mediated the relationship between self-compassion and both restrained and emotional disordered eating respectively. Therefore, a self-compassionate attitude may serve as a protective factor against engaging in disordered eating vis-à-vis strengthening young women’s abilities to look at their bodies in a more compassionate and unconditionally accepting way.