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Setting the scene for eating disorders, II. Childhood helplessness and mastery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 1997

NICHOLAS A. TROOP  and
JANET L. TREASURE
NICHOLAS A. TROOP
Affiliation:
Eating Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London
JANET L. TREASURE
Affiliation:
Eating Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London
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Abstract

Background. Previous studies have examined childhood factors that appear to increase the risk of developing an eating disorder (e.g. sexual abuse and parental care). Studies have not yet examined whether the way in which women cope with these adversities in childhood influences the risk.

Method. Using a semi-structured interview, childhood helplessness and mastery were measured (based on behavioural indices) in women with and without a history of eating disorders.

Results. There was a higher rate of childhood helplessness and a lower rate of childhood mastery in women with eating disorders compared to those without. Furthermore, this difference did not appear to be a result of current psychiatric state.

Conclusion. It is concluded that it is not simply the presence of adversity in childhood which is of aetiological importance in the development of eating disorders but the way in which these are negotiated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , May 1997 , pp. 531 - 538
Copyright
1997 Cambridge University Press

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