Family correlates of bulimic characteristics in college females

Abstract

This article provides a short review of the literature that relates family characteristics to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In addition, a quantitative analysis of the relationship between family variables and level of eating disturbance was performed on self‐reported responses of 175 normal weight females in an attempt to verify an expansion of the continuum hypothesis outlined by Kagan and Squires (1985). Consistent with the continuum hypothesis, moderate relationships were found between level of family dysfunction and bulimic symptomatology. Among several family variables, inconsistent expression of affection by the mother best predicted severity of eating disturbance.