Weighty decisions: How symptom severity and weight impact perceptions of bulimia nervosa
Katharine Galbraith1,2, JoAnna Elmquist1, Marney A White1,3
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Objective:
The current study examined whether variations in patient weight and eating-disorder behavior frequency influenced the recognition of bulimia nervosa (BN) and the perception that it is a serious mental health concern.
Method:
Participants (N = 320) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions in which they read a vignette describing a young woman with BN. Each vignette was identical except for the variables of interest: weight status (underweight, healthy-weight, and overweight), and symptom frequency (daily or weekly binge-eating episodes and purging).
Results:
Participants were more likely to have negative attitudes toward and blame the patient with overweight. Participants were less likely to believe that the patient with overweight was experiencing mental illness and that her problems were too serious to handle on her own. There were no significant differences by symptom frequency.
Discussion:
Findings suggest the presence of weight stigma and that overweight might impede the recognition of eating disorders.
More Related Videos
07:46Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa
Published on: October 22, 2015
07:02An Investigation of the Effects of Sports-related Concussion in Youth Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Head Impact Telemetry System
Published on: January 12, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Bulimia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Subliminal Perception
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Perception
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...
Gestalt Principles of Perception
