Late adolescent eating disordered women: perceived parental characteristics and separation-individuation difficulties

Abstract

It is currently accepted that the aetiology of eating disorders is multidetermined however; specific characteristic have been identified in families and in the intrapsychic makeup of eating disordered individuals. This present study is an exploration of perceived parental overprotection experienced by late adolescent women and the degree of pathology in the separation-individuation process of adolescence. Subjects were comprised of 20 late adolescent eating disordered women and 20 late adolescent female university students. All subjects were given the following instruments: (1) the EDI (the Eating Disorder Inventory) used as a screening instrument, (2) the PBI (Parental Bonding Inventory), used to assess the degree of parental overprotection, and (3) the SITA (Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence), used to evalute dimensions of the adolescent separation-individuation process. Results indicated that late adolescent eating disordered women as a group reported significantly higher levels of maternal overprotectiveness during childhood in comparison with student controls. No significant difference appeared in reported levels of father overprotectiveness for the two groups. Post hoc analyses of eating disorder subgroups revealed that bulimics perceived significantly lower levels of maternal care in comparison to student controls. Results from the SITA suggested that late adolescent eating disordered women as a group had failed to resolve the separation-individuation process of adolescence, evidencing high scale scores of Separation Anxiety and low scale scores of Healthy Separation in comparison with Student controls. Post hoc analysis showed that anorexic restrictors scored significantly higher than student controls and bulimics on a scale measuring less healthy attachment seeking. Anorexic bulimics scored significantly higher than student controls on a scale measuring denial of attachment needs. The present exploratory study points towards distinct differences between late adolescent eating disordered women (and student controls on) perceived parenting styles and the intrapsychic separation-individuation process of adolescence. Implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for future research are outlined.