Sexual orientation as a risk factor for bulimic symptoms

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Bulimic symptoms are a significant public health concern.
• Non-heterosexual individuals report higher rates of eating disorders.
• Existing research on sexual orientation and bulimia is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if sexual orientation predicts future bulimic symptoms.
• To determine if known risk factors explain the elevated risk in non-heterosexual individuals.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study of 2,924 Norwegian high school students (ages 14-19).
• Self-reported data on bulimic symptoms (Bulimic Investigatory Test-Edinborough - BITE), sexual experience, and sexual attraction.
• Follow-up assessment after 5 years (T2).

Main Results:

• Same-sex sexual experience prior to T1 predicted increased bulimic symptoms at T2.
• Males attracted to the same sex showed higher odds of bulimic symptoms compared to heterosexual males.
• These associations remained significant after controlling for baseline bulimic symptoms and risk factors.

Conclusions:

• Same-sex sexual experience (both genders) and non-heterosexual attraction (males) are predictors of future bulimic symptoms.
• Commonly proposed explanations for this association were not supported by the findings.