[DOWNLOAD] "Eating Pathology and Social Comparison in College Females (Report)" by North American Journal of Psychology # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Eating Pathology and Social Comparison in College Females (Report)
- Author : North American Journal of Psychology
- Release Date : January 01, 2008
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 219 KB
Description
Eating pathology is any symptom of an eating disorder (either Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa) that includes extreme caloric restriction, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, and misuse of laxatives, diuretics, and diet pills (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The disordered eating and body dissatisfaction literature focuses on the negative impact of media images that perpetuate unrealistic standards of beauty. Though the images in media provide women with a great deal of information about the definition of beauty, they are not the lone source of this information. Most women also gain information about their physical appearance through comparison with peers (Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1984). Burckle, Ryckman, Gold, Thornton, and Audesse (1999) report that 18.6% of female college students score outside the normal range on the Eating Attitudes Test, a questionnaire assessing unhealthy beliefs about food and weight. They also note that 3.8% of female college students meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) for bulimia nervosa and a significantly larger percentage exhibit disordered eating behaviors and attitudes that are detrimental to overall health and well-being. The prevalence of disordered eating is not surprising in a culture where dieting is viewed as a rite of passage and negative attitudes about weight and shape reflect a "normative discontent" that many women share (Rodin et al., 1984). Some researchers argue that people have a natural desire to compare their opinions, abilities, and other aspects of the self (Festinger, 1954). Social comparison is the primary source of information about the self and it occurs both in the presence and absence of objective criteria (Marsh & Parker, 1984; Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Morrison, Kalin, and Morrison (2004) found that people make social comparisons about general appearance, weight, and eating habits. A person's conception of his or her body image is based not only on one's own views but also how he or she thinks that others view it (Davidson & McCabe, 2005).