Chronic Self-destructiveness in Anorexia Students

Abstract

The term self-destructiveness is related to human behaviours that lead to reduction of positive consequences and increase the probability of experiencing negative results. According to statistical data a growing number of acute self-destructive behaviours, like suicides, drug addiction and alcohol abuse has been observed in European population recently.

Apart from the acute self-destructiveness some authors have attempted to identify chronic self-destructive behaviours as the tendency to avoid behaviours that lead to positive consequences for oneself. The studies were performed on 15 anorectic women (diagnosed by EAT-26) and 39 non-anorectic women, aged 21,7 ± 1,0 years. All subjects were asked to answer on Kelley's test of chronic self-destructiveness modified to Polish conditions by Suchanska. The results were evaluated in the five-point scale and subsequently analysed with the use of t-Student's and Chi-square tests.

The results showed lack of tendencies to indirect auto-destructiveness in the studied subjects. However the were differences (chi-square=7,54; p< 0,05) in the distribution data showing that anorectic are more prone to such behaviours compared to non-anorectic (14% vs. 0%, relatively).

This work was supported by grant from the National Committee of the Science Research of Poland No 2 P06T 02330.