Bulimic women's perceptions of interaction within their families

The association between women's perceptions of the interaction within their families and symptomatology related to eating was investigated in a case series of 81 women suffering from bulimic disorders. Bingeing was more frequent when the family was perceived to have poor problem-solving skills but was less frequent when the women perceived their families as having a more cohesive style. In contrast abnormal restriction of intake was linked, although not significantly, to the converse pattern of perceived interaction within the family--greater when the family was relatively cohesive and lower when the family had good problem-solving skills. The same family characteristics appear to be 'risky' for some symptoms and 'protective' against others.