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Relationship between self-soothing, aloneness, and evocative memory in bulimia nervosa
M J Esplen1, P Garfinkel, R Gallop
1Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai Hospital/Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.
Objective:
The relationship between characteristics of self-soothing ability, the capacity for evocative memory, and aloneness was investigated in a clinical sample of 50 bulimia nervosa (BN) patients.
Method:
Individuals meeting DSM-III-R criteria for BN who participated in a randomized trial of guided imagery completed measures of Soothing Receptivity and a modified version of the UCLA-Loneliness scale, resulting in the Aloneness/Evocative Memory Scale.
Results:
A lower level of soothing receptivity (indicating a decreased capacity for self-soothing) was correlated with a decreased capacity for evocative memory. A lower level of soothing receptivity and decreased capacity for evocative memory were associated with a greater experience of aloneness.
Discussion:
Results suggest the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the role of affect regulation and the experience of aloneness in BN and the need to develop treatments to specifically address these features of the illness.