Anorexia Nervosa and Parental Bonding - Term Paper Example

 Anorexia Nervosa and Parental Bonding Eating disorders have been on the rise recently amongst adolescents and teens, due to the increasing pressure of looking good. Anorexia nervosa is one such disorder. There has been evidence that genetic factors do affect the onset of anorexia. But in addition to these genetic factors, various environmental factors are also involved. Numerous researches have been conducted over the years to examine the relationship between anorexia nervosa and the relationship of the participants with their parents. Most of these researches compared the parent-child relationship of anorexia patients to a non-clinical group. It was previously found that abnormal relationships between mothers and daughters are the underlying factors, which later contribute to the development of eating disorders. Later studies in self-psychology prove that disorders like anorexia nervosa are caused by the parents’ inability in developing a healthy affectionate relationship with their daughters (Canetti et al., 704). Hence, they further extended this research and also studied the effect of the parental style of grandparents on their grandchildren and the correlation between parental bonding and severity of anorexia (705). The parents of the anorexia patients and non-clinical group were compared on the basis of their PBI. The PBI measures the dimensions of caring for the child and the psychological control parents exert over a child. A combination of these two factors is the underlying basis for classifying parents into different groups. The PBI classified the parents into the following groups based on their parenting style and bonding – optimal, weak, affectionate constraint and affectionless control. The researchers assumed that the parental bonding style of people is reflected in their grandchildren and is associated with anorexia and other eating disorders in these children. The other assumption was that in addition to an eating disorder, parenting style also determines the severity of a prevalent eating disorder. The degree of severity of a disorder was also investigated across generations. The research investigated four hypotheses – the fathers and mother of anorexia patients are more controlling and less caring, anorexia nervosa patients will have experienced a affectionless control parental bonding, less parental care and increasing control gives rise to anorexia nervosa in kids. Grandparents of anorexia patients will be less caring and increased grandparental control will lead to greater incidence of eating disorders in the anorexia patients (Canetti et al., 706). The two instruments used to test the severity of the anorexia prevalent in the participants were the Eating Disorder Inventory – a self report measure which investigates the psychological dimensions associated with eating disorders, and the Eating Attitudes Test – a self report that measures the symptoms and characteristics of eating disorders; more focused on the behavioural parameters. These two instruments together help investigate the behavioural and personality aspects of the anorexia nervosa patients (Canetti et al., 705). The results confirmed the hypotheses to a certain extent. The anorexia patients did report their parents to be less caring as compared to the non-clinical group; however, the difference in the mother’s control was negligible between both the groups (Canetti et al, 708). The hypothesis of both the mother and father caring less was thus not proven. To examine the affect of the grandparents’ parenting style on the grandchildren, the bonding between the mother and maternal grandparents and that between the father and paternal grandparents was examined. As expected, the degree of severity of the eating disorder was associated with paternal bonding (Canetti et al., 709). The more control exerted by mothers (and in some cases fathers), the more symptoms of anorexia apparent in the individual (712). However in nearly all the anorexia participants, affectionless paternal control was a frequent and significant factor. This showed that most anorexia participants felt that their parents did not give them enough affection and care yet they were extremely strict and prevented the participants’ independence. These factors were highly associated with the occurrence of anorexia in an individual. Since the control of mothers was not different in the anorexia and the non-clinical group, the possibility of control being an independent factor leading to anorexia was ruled out. When parental control was coupled with lack of care, empathy and indifference, only then did it affect the psychopathology of an individual (712). There were certain shortcomings of this research. The relationships examined in the research were done through self measure techniques. These techniques give a measure of the perceived relationship between individuals as opposed to the actual relationship that exists. These perceptions, however, do play an important part in the development of psychological disorders (710). The research focuses on the correlation between the parent child relationship and the prevalence of anorexia nervosa. The entire topic is described extremely well in the article. The article initially describes what anorexia nervosa is and then goes on to provide arguments regarding the previous researches on similar topics. It then provides the hypotheses, which are subsequently tested in the research and how this research is different from the others done before this. The entire process is described in detail so that anybody who reads the research is able to understand, what this research is about and what it deals with. The results are described in detail and all the assumptions taken by the researchers are stated. When it comes to the logical structure of the article, nothing has been left to chance or on the reader. Every minute detail is stated and explained in the article so that the reader has a clear idea as to what the research was about and what results have been yielded. One methodological issue which arises in the research is the fact that the questionnaires filled and the tests used are self reports. These reports reflect what the participants or their parents think and perceive. These measures do not give us the extent of the actual relationship between parents and children. For researches it is very important to have actual data as opposed to perceived data. Having said this, the self reports give us an idea of how the participants perceive their relationships with their parents. For a psychological study, it is very important to know what the participant is thinking as well as to know what the actual situation is. To observe the correlation between the above mentioned variables, it is important to have actual data as well as what the participants perceive it to be. Therefore, if further investigations are carried out to explore the same variables, it is advisable that for a psychologist or a therapist to get the feedback from the participants and fill the necessary questionnaires. This will help the potential investigators analyze, what the actual relationship between the parents and child is and how the relationship has been perceived by each party. This will give the research more depth and a new dimension. Such a study will be a breakthrough in psychology because it will be able to provide psychologists with the necessary tools to differentiate between, how an individual perceives a situation to be and what the actual situation is. After gaining an understanding of this relationship, psychologists will be better able to target their treatments to patients in a way so that their perceptions are altered where required. All of the participants of the research were women with a mean age of 21.3 years. This leaves out a large percentage of people who are prone to anorexia. Firstly the research does not take into account teenage girls with anorexia. A large percentage of anorexia cases occur in teenage girls, as opposed to those in their late teens and early twenties. In addition to this the research does not encompass men who suffer from anorexia. Anorexia and other eating disorders have historically been associated with women only. So much so that some went on to say that only around 10% of the men suffered from such disorders. Research however has shown that out of a sample of 3000 people, who suffered from anorexia and bulimia, 25% were men. This number is high enough (Baum, 1). Ignoring the occurrence of eating disorders in males is a grave mistake many researchers make. Since the focus is usually on females, the symptoms, severity and various stages of the disorder in males is not thoroughly investigated. This ignorance in the longer run can be detrimental for the psychologists on the whole. For a more detailed analysis, the sample of participants can include both men and women of different age groups, who suffer from anorexia and a similar control group. Such a sample can be used to determine how eating disorders differ in both the sexes. It can help investigate whether the symptoms of anorexia nervosa are similar or different between men and women. If they are different, the reasons as why it is so can be analyzed. With the changing environment today, the prevalence of psychological disorders has increased. Increased amount of young men and women are giving in to the peer and societal pressures and resorting to unnatural means to attain the perfect body. The number of cases of disorders like anorexia and bulimia has been on the rise. It is not just teenagers, but even professional models and athletes resort to such means of losing weight. With the increasing prevalence of such disorders, it is very important for psychologists and therapists to have the relevant data and research. Such researches help psychologists understand what triggers these disorders in individuals and what may be the detrimental factors leading to such conditions. Once psychologists have this data available, they are better able to look for intervention techniques and the various techniques which can help anorexic individuals. Previous researches have been focused on the correlation between parental bonding and the prevalence of anorexia. It was already proven that children who do not share an affectionate bond with their parents are usually the ones who suffer from eating disorders. But every individual reacts differently to different external stimuli. No research was conducted previously to investigate how the severity of the disorder changed with change in the parent-child bond. This is a very important aspect anorexia nervosa. Not every child has the same relationship with his parent. Similarly not every parent is equally strict, affectionate or lenient with their kids. Therefore, it is very important for psychologists to know how the severity of the disease is related to the parent-child relationship. Once this has been understood, it will be very easy for psychologists to figure out how severe the disease is in an individual by assessing the relationship that patient has with his parents. The article provides a good background for future researches. It gives detailed information about the variables it investigated. The one major drawback of this research is the fact that the sample included only women. No male suffering from anorexia were a part of this research. This is a serious issue as there are many male models and athletes suffering from extreme cases of anorexia. If left uncontrolled and untreated, this disorder can eventually lead to death. More researches need to be carried out with a more diversified population sample. This will make it very easy for psychologists to gather a more detailed understanding of anorexia nervosa, thus they will be better able to treat their patients. Work Cited Canetti et al, “Anorexia Nervosa and Parental Bonding: The Contribution of Parent – Grandparent Relationships to Eating Disorder Psychopathology”, Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 64(6): 703-716, 2008 Baum, A, “Eating Disorders in the Male Athlete”, Sports Med, Volume 36(1), 2006. Read More