Relationships between bulimia, childhood sexual abuse, and family environment

Prior studies investigating the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and bulimia have yielded mixed to weak empirical support for such an association. The current research, utilizing relatively restrictive definitions of abuse and bulimia, obtained significant associations between bulimia, sexual abuse, and a chaotic family environment in female college students. Among abuse victims, severity of abuse was also associated with bulimia. Although some analyses suggested that a chaotic family environment moderated the abuse--bulimia association, sexual abuse, and family environment appeared to combine in an additive manner to increase the probability of bulimia.