1. Defense Styles and Parental Bonding in Eating-Disordered Women.
- Author
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Steiger, Howard, van der Feen, Julie, Goldstein, Cathy, and Leichner, Pierre
- Subjects
- *
MILITARY readiness , *EATING disorders , *PATHOLOGICAL psychology , *NEUROLOGY , *PSYCHOLOGY , *BULIMIA - Abstract
Fifty-eight women with anorexia or bulimia nervosa were compared with 24 normal women on measures of defense style and parental bonding. Results indicated that all eating-disorder subtypes exhibit more primitive defenses and fewer mature ones than controls. Eating-disorder patients uniformly recalled /ess paternal em pa- thy than controls. Thus, difficulties involving object representations of fathers may be a theme common to eating disorders. No major differences were identified among eating-disorder subtypes, suggesting that these disorders share substantial psychodynamic features. Patterns of parental bonding were associated with defense styles in a manner consistent with theories that link defense style development to early object relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 1989
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