Parental factors related to bulimia nervosa

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental factors and bulimia nervosa. Subjects were female undergraduate students (classified as bulimic, subclinical bulimic, or normal) and their parents. Daughters and their parents were administered a questionnaire which assesses attitudes about being overweight, radical dieting, and parental pressure to lose weight. The bulimic group, and in some instances the subclinical group, were significantly different in that they reported perceiving themselves to be overweight, engaging in radical means of weight control, and perceiving more parental pressure to radically diet and exercise. The mothers of bulimic students, and in some instances subclinical bulimic students, were significantly different from the mothers of normal students in restricting their daughters' food intake, encouraging their daughters to diet and exercise in order to lose weight, and perceiving their daughters as being overweight. There were no significant differences among the three groups of fathers. Limitations of these findings were discussed as well as implications for further research.