Eating Disorder as One of the Major Problems - Essay Example

?Introduction Eating disorder is one of the major problems among the children and adolescents today. The pressure of competitive world, and the unrealistic expectations about the body images that are set by the media and fashion culture, are creating havoc in the lives of young people. Children are losing their right to live a healthy, relaxed and happy life in order to fulfill the expectations of society, peers and family. The pressure to perform well, remain ‘perfect’ in every way, look good and to maintain ‘perfect weight’ is making the young adults to take drastic steps to achieve the perfect figure and body. In case of adults, it is possible for them to spend money and get surgeries done to reduce the flab from their bodies. However, for children, spending money on plastic surgeries is not possible and hence, they are forced to adopt harmful eating behavior to get in perfect shape. Moreover, the pressure from families makes it difficult for them to find a support at home (Graber, Archibald, Brooks-Gunn,1999, p.52). In fact, according to Taylor et al (2006), the development of eating disorder occurs due to negative comments regarding physical aspects, made by parents and family members (Dosil, 2008, p. 47). Hence, the only option that children and adolescents have is to indulge in drastic steps of weight loss like dieting, binging, using laxatives, skipping meals etc. It not only develops the eating disorder in them but also makes them lose their self-esteem, confidence and trust in self and people around them, as parents tease them and siblings laugh at them (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.313). However, the factor that plays a major role in development of eating disorder is the unusual and rigid functioning style of the family. Hence, if the eating disorder is to be eradicated completely, then the families need to show unconditional regard, emotional support and total acceptance of children as it is their outlook which makes children to develop confidence in their personal and social image, and achieve happiness and success in life. Definition Eating disorder is a general term used to describe two types of eating disorders known as the anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.311). American Psychiatric Association defines anorexia nervosa as a disorder in which a person has a disturbed body image perception which develops intense fear of gaining weight and refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.311). In bulimia nervosa, people evaluate themselves on the basis of body shape and weight which leads to episodes of uncontrolled binge eating and inappropriate behavior like self induced vomiting and misuse of laxatives to maintain weight (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). The studies in the past 25 years, including that of Kog and Vandereycken (1985) and Wonderlich (1992), have found family relationships and communication patterns as consistent factors in the development of eating disorders (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). Eating disorders can be developed due to multiple destructive family functioning styles and structures (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312).This clearly shows that eating disorder is not just a physiological problem but has its roots in psychological and emotional aspects of a person. Hence, eating disorder is a psychosomatic disorder. Nature Of The Disorder Eating disorder is not a physical disorder completely. It has its roots in the social and personal perception of the body. Most of the times, the desire to get the body shape and weight to fit with the expectations of others, makes young adolescents to develop eating disorder. It is not just a physical problem but has its roots in the mind and the soul of a person and hence, it is psychosomatic in nature. Psychosomatic illness is an illness which has its roots in the psychological problems that a person is experiencing (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.13). Dunbar had noted that certain diseases are a result of certain personality traits in human beings and hence, according to him, it was important to analyze the personality of a person first to find the causes, chances of recovery and plan the therapeutic measures for the treatment of those diseases (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.13). Franz Alexander realized that it’s not the genes that play a major role in manifestation of diseases but also the “psychological patterns of conflict and defense”, and the immediate social situations of a person suffering from disease (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.13). Hence, family plays an important role in life of a person who is suffering from psychosomatic problems like eating disorders. It has been found that the members of the families that show emotional entanglement, over protectiveness, rigidity and lack of conflict resolution, have most chances and vulnerability to the formation of psychosomatic problems (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.30). As eating disorder is also a psychosomatic problem, it is extremely important to understand the real cause behind the eating disorders if it is to be treated effectively. The Foundation Family is a foundation of human beings. Nurture plays a major role in the development of a child as child learns everything from people and situations in his surrounding. The identity of a human being is extremely important aspect of his personality. Unfortunately, instead of forming the identity on the basis of self-evaluation, people form their identities on the basis of what other people think about them (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Most importantly, the opinions that influence person’s identity a lot are the opinions of people who are close to a person. Hence, the opinion of family members, close relatives and friends are the foundation of personality in human beings (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Every human being desires acceptance and positive validation from others. However, for children who are undergoing the transition phase in their lives, the validation by others becomes a matter of ‘life’ or ‘death’, as it either makes their life or ends up ‘breaking’ it. The functioning of family has a huge impact on the development of identities of its members (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Every stage of development of human personality is affected by the way he is treated and raised by the family (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). The process of formation of identity is a delicate and essential part of every child’s life and hence, the result of this process depends a lot on the surrounding situations of a child (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). That is, the acceptance by family members and close relatives becomes an important factor in the identity formation of a child (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). If a child is accepted and validated by the family positively, then the child forms a healthy identity in the society. However, a child who is criticized and rejected by the family ends up forming a weak social and personal identity. In effort to be accepted by the family, the child adopts every way to change himself to fit the ‘expectations’ of the family. In case of rejection of a child due to body image and weight, it leads a child to take drastic measures in reducing or gaining weight, which results in formation of eating disorders in them. Hence, eating disorder is strongly related to the family relationships. The Importance of Family Children depend a lot on their parents for a formation of their personalities. Children who are accepted and well regarded by their families develop two important traits of the personality, autonomy and belonging (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Autonomy, which is a sense of self-sufficiency and independence to handle every challenge in personal, profession and social life, is developed at home (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Children who get constructive feedbacks and emotional support from the family develop an autonomous personality. They develop a feeling of belonging to family and to the world, as a whole (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). A sense of belonging to the family and society is important to make a child feel secure and ‘at home’ in this world. However, the development of sense of belonging and autonomy does not depend on self but depends on the functioning of the family (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). The sense of autonomy and belonging is a result of positive emotional, psychological and environmental support from the family. However, children who are treated negatively by their parents lose their confidence and are unable to form a confident and autonomous personality. Also, they fail to develop one of the most important traits of personality and that is, high self-esteem. The development of an individual’s personality depends enormously on the family functioning (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Parents play a vital role in the development of children as they are the role models in children’s life. The way parents raise their children, the values systems in the family, cultural beliefs and the role of father and mother in child rearing, plays a vital role in growth of children (Minuchin, Rosman & Baker, 1978, p.52). Hence, for a child whose family values physical looks and certain body type, his physical appearance becomes a centre of attention and concern. He realizes that his acceptance and belonging to the family depends on him attaining a perfect shape and weight. Hence, instead of gaining confidence in his body, the child develops self-conscious and negative perception about his body. This increases the possibility of development of eating disorders in children. Moreover, the family aspect that plays a vital role in development of eating disorders in children is the communication style in the family. Communication Style According to the eating disorder theories by Bruch (1973) and Minuchin et al.(1978), the dysfunctional communication and interaction style of the family plays a major role in development of eating disorder in children (Jacobi, 2005,p. 66). The problems in communication style, interactions between family members, attachment styles and the family structure, have been consistently observed in the background of children suffering from eating disorders (Jacobi, 2005,p. 66). The family assessment in studies by Garfinkel et al. (1983), Shisslak et al. (1990), Waller et al. (1989) etc, have revealed that the children and adolescents suffering from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia have disturbed, conflicted, pathological and dysfunctional pattern of communication, cohesion and attachments in the family, while normal children were found to have healthy structure in the families (Jacobi, 2005,p. 66). This shows that the communication style of the family matters a lot when it comes to healthy development of a child. Moreover, the psychological condition of family members also affects the development of child. According to Jacobi et al. (2004), the study of family history and family styles have revealed that the children who are born and raised in the families with members suffering from psychiatric disorders, are at great risk of developing eating disorders (Jacobi, 2005,p. 66). Studies have revealed that people suffering from anorexia have an “elevated rates of psychiatric disorders in first-degree relatives” (Jacobi, 2005,p. 66). This shows that the psychological, emotional and physical structure of the families play an important role in the development of eating disorders in children. Moreover, self-esteem, which is an essential aspect of the personality and which helps in development of healthy identity, also depends on the structure of the family. Role of Self-esteem High self-esteem is a vital element for a happy, successful and fulfilled life. It helps in developing a positive self image and self-confidence in a person. People with low self-esteem suffer from feeling of inferiority and ‘ineffectiveness’ in the life (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). Hence, it is not surprising to find that most of the clinically derived theories of eating disorders have found low self-esteem playing a central role in the development of eating disorders (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). Study by Jacobi et al. (2004) has found low self-esteem leading to perception of self as weak, ineffective and insufficient, in people suffering from anorexia (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). This makes them to torture themselves by setting impossible and ridiculous goals for themselves, leading to increase in the intensity of the eating disorder and deeper psychological problems. People with low self-esteem depend on others for their evaluation and identity. They feel that they are ‘good’ and ‘worthy’ only if other people accept them and validate them positively. Hence, they set their goals by comparing themselves with the stereotypical and perfectionist images (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67) that are popularized in media and fashion culture. It makes them to behave in a rigid, ritualistic and perfectionist way (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). This leads to practice of unhealthy and harmful ways in eating patterns like dieting, binging, skipping meals etc. People suffering from eating disorders have unusual and stubborn ideas about their body image and they feel ‘in control’ and happy only when they attain a certain ‘perfect’ weight (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). Cross- sectional study by Bastiani et al. (1995) has found that the idea of perfection was a major reason behind the development of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia in young people (Jacobi, 2005,p. 67). This shows that if the initial upbringing of the child is done with unduly high expectations and rigid patterns of rewards, then the child develops a thinking pattern that she will be accepted by others only if she is ‘perfect’ in every sense. Hence, when she reaches teenage, where physical appearance becomes a centre of attention, then she takes drastic measures to attain the body image, shape and weight, which is ‘perfect’ in every sense. Unfortunately, the major external pressure that leads to eating disorder comes from closest people in the family. The Upbringing Researchers have found that the nature of interpersonal behavior in the family causes eating disorders (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). According to Olson (1993), the healthy family relationships and functioning depends on the family adaptability and cohesion (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). Different studies have found that children reared in families with low cohesions often develop eating disorders (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). Study by Dare et al (1994) found that children in the families with low cohesion rate the cohesiveness in the family lower than their parents do (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). This shows that the relationships in the particular family are not good as the members of the family hold different views about the structure and functioning of the family (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.312). It was also found that adolescents suffering from eating disorder had parents who openly criticized and commented sarcastically on their physical appearance and eating habits (Graber, Archibald, Brooks-Gunn,1999, p.54). Also, parents treat their adolescent children more negatively and strictly than their younger children (Graber, Archibald, Brooks-Gunn,1999, p.54). This creates a feeling of jealousy, comparison and competition between siblings. This reveals the problem and disharmony in the family. Moreover, the ‘one to one’ relationships with parents have also proved to be a risk factor in development of eating disorders. Especially, the relationship with mother plays an important role in case of females suffering from eating disorders. Mother-Daughter Relationship The role of parents in development of eating disorder has been found to be very important. A study by Ahmad, Waller, & Verduyn (1994) revealed that excessive parental control was a major factor in phenomenon of eating disorder (Segrin, 1998, p.348). A study by van Furth et al. found that the nature of maternal influence in the family interaction has been found to be a decisive factor in case of eating disorders (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p.313). Lucas et al. (1988) found that “the ratio of females to males suffering from anorexia is approximately 10 to1” (Segrin, 1998, p.348). According to Hsu (1989), the difference in ratio of eating disorder between men and women is so vast because compared to men women are more concerned about their body image and weight control (Segrin, 1998, p.348). Child’s development is more influenced by the relationship with same sex parents (Segrin, 1998, p.348). Hence, in case of females suffering from anorexia, great deal of attention is given to their relationship with their mothers (Segrin, 1998, p.348). Sadly, it has been found that the attitude of mother does play a vital role in onset of eating disorders in girls. Rhodes and Kroger (1992) have found that mothers of females suffering from eating disorders show an overprotective behavior towards their daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). At the same time, study by Palmer, Oppenheimer, & Marshall (1988) found that females with eating disorder felt that their mothers show less care towards them (Segrin, 1998, p.349). This proves that the over protectiveness is not out of love but out of rigid expectations and hence, very cold in nature. Rhodes and Kroger (1992) also found that compared to the mothers of healthy children, mothers of females suffering from eating disorders show indifference and rejection towards their daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Not only that, but it was also found that daughter’s eating behavior pattern is highly influenced by mother’s eating behavior pattern Different studies have shown that there is a strong influence of mother’s eating behavior pattern on their daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). For example, Hill, Weaver and Blundell (1990) found that the restrain and control that the mothers practice in their diet is passed on indirectly to their adolescent daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Evans and le Grange (1995) found a positive correlation between mothers satisfaction with their body sizes with their daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Interestingly, it was found that significant number of females suffering from eating disorders were raised by mothers who had suffered from eating disorders in their past (Connors, 1996p.295). Moreover, an unnecessarily harsh attitude has been observed in mothers of females suffering from eating disorder towards their daughters (Segrin, 1998, p.349). It is, as if they are ashamed of accepting their daughters with the body image that they have. This not only shows injustice to their daughters but also indicates emotional abuse and torture. A study by Pike and Rodin (1991) found that compared to the mothers of girls who are not suffering from eating disorders, the mothers of girls suffering from eating disorder thought their daughters are way too overweight and should lose significantly more weight (Segrin, 1998, p.349). However, it was also found that the daughters suffering from eating disorder thought themselves more attractive than their mothers did (Segrin, 1998, p.349). It is clear that daughters are not overrating themselves as in the first place, people suffering from eating disorder also suffer from low self-esteem and negative body image and hence, are incapable of showing over confidence in their body image (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Moreover, Sights & Richards (1984) found that mothers of daughters suffering from bulimia showed extremely controlling behavior towards their daughters and also held high expectations from them (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Hence, according to Pierce and Wardle (1993) it is a dangerous and harmful thing for the adolescent girls to be in relationship with mothers who evaluate their daughters in such a negative, critical and excessive way (Segrin, 1998, p.349). This kind of sarcastic and negative treatment from mother and other members of the family leads the adolescents suffering from eating disorders to go into depression (Costin, 2007, p.104). Hence, the eating disorder also leads to destruction of other relationships outside the family (Costin, 2007, p.104). Relationship Problems The social life of people suffering from eating disorders get negatively affected (Heller, 2003, p.80). Their energy and time is mostly devoted to matters related to their weight, food and calories (Heller, 2003, p.80). Moreover, self-consciousness of body leads them to avoid functions and parties where eating is involved (Heller, 2003, p.80). It is not surprising to find that girls suffering from eating disorder of anorexia are found to be suffering from loneliness due to their eating problems (Segrin, 1998, p.350). Grissett and Norvell (1992) found that women suffering from bulimia perceive less social support and feel less socially competent than girls with healthy eating behavior (Segrin, 1998, p.349). Unfortunately, eating disorder is not limited to adolescents who are single. Even married women are found to be suffering from eating disorders There is a significant amount of increase in proportion of married women suffering from eating disorders (Broucke, Vandereycken, & Norre, 1997, p. x). Lack of marital satisfaction, lack of intimacy in relationship with spouse, communication problems and inability to resolve conflicts have been found to be some of the factors leading to development of eating disorders in married women (Broucke, Vandereycken, & Norre, 1997, p. 14). Moreover, the problems in relationship of adolescents and women suffering from eating disorder does not remain limited to family and friends but also affect the interpersonal relationships in social places and at work (Graber, Archibald, Brooks-Gunn,1999, p.52). Hence, no matter how hard young children and women suffering from eating disorder try to maintain their relationships, they fail to do so as they lack self-confidence and self-esteem. Conclusion The literature review shows that people suffering from eating disorders cannot develop positive and healthy personal and social relationships in their lives. However, the root cause of their problem does not lie in their eating disorder but lies in the feeling of uselessness, worthlessness and shame, which is ingrained in them by their family members and especially, by parents. Hence, parents should understand that by setting unrealistic expectations in front of their children, they are not motivating their children to achieve high goals, but are making them psychologically, socially and emotionally handicap for the rest of their lives. Hence, parents need to show unconditional regard, emotional support and total acceptance, as it is their outlook which makes their children to develop confidence in their personal and social image, and achieve happiness and success in life. References Broucke, S., Vandereycken, W. & Norre, J. (1997). Eating Disorders and Marital Relationships. London, UK: Routledge. Connors, M.E. (1996). Developmental Vulnerabilities for Eating Disorders. In L.Smolak, M. Levine & R. Striegel-Moore (Eds.), The Developmental Psychopathology of Eating Disorders: Implications for Research, Prevention, and Treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Costin, C. (2007). The Eating Disorder Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments, And Prevention of Eating Disorder. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Dosil, J. (2008). Eating Disorders in Athletes. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Graber, J.A., Archibald, A.B. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1999). The Role of Parents in the Emergence, Maintenance, and Prevention of Eating Problems and Disorders. In N.Piran, M.Levine & C. Steiner-Adair (Eds.), Preventing Eating Disorders: A Handbook of Interventions and Special Challenges (pp 44-62). Philadelphia, PA: BRUNNER/MAZEL. Heller, T. (2003). Eating Disorders: A Handbook For Teens, Families, and Teachers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Jacobi, C. (2005). Psychosocial Risk Factors for Eating Disorders. In S. Wonderlich, J.Mitchell, M. De Zwaan & H.Steiger (Eds.), Eating Disorders Review, Part 1. Oxon, UK: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. Minuchin, S., Rosman, B.L., & Baker, L. (1978). Psychosomatic Families. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Segrin, C. (1998). Disrupted Interpersonal Relationships and Mental Health Problems. In B.H. Spitzberg & W.R. Cupach (Eds.), The Dark Side of Close Relationships. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Segrin, C. & Flora, J. (2005). Family Communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Read More