Defense Styles and Parental Bonding in Eating-Disordered Women.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Steiger, Howard; van der Feen, Julie; Goldstein, Cathy; Leichner, Pierre
- Source
- International Journal of Eating Disorders. Mar1989, Vol. 8 Issue 2, p131-140. 10p.
- Subject
- *MILITARY readiness
*EATING disorders
*PATHOLOGICAL psychology
*NEUROLOGY
*PSYCHOLOGY
*BULIMIA
- Language
- ISSN
- 0276-3478
Fifty-eight women with anorexia or bulimia nervosa were compared with 24 normal women on measures of defense style and parental bonding. Results indicated that all eating-disorder subtypes exhibit more primitive defenses and fewer mature ones than controls. Eating-disorder patients uniformly recalled /ess paternal em pa- thy than controls. Thus, difficulties involving object representations of fathers may be a theme common to eating disorders. No major differences were identified among eating-disorder subtypes, suggesting that these disorders share substantial psychodynamic features. Patterns of parental bonding were associated with defense styles in a manner consistent with theories that link defense style development to early object relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]