Coping and depression in bulimia nervosa

While theoretical models of bulimia have tended to emphasize single dimensions of the disorder, such as cognition or depression, factor analytic studies suggest that bulimia is best represented by a multifactorial model. In this study, we explore whether bulimia nervosa patients with different levels of depression display different types of coping.

Bulimia nervosa clinic patients were divided into four subgroups based on level of depression and asked to respond to the Coping Strategies Inventory.

The results suggest that avoidant or disengaged coping may be more related to affective symptoms than to bulimia, itself. While problem solving and cognitive restructuring did not appear to differ between the subgroups in this study, there were significant differences in social support seeking among the four groups.

The findings suggest that bulimic patients who present with the affective and personality disordered dimension of bulimia need interventions that focus on the utilization of social support.