Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T13:28:02.375Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The reliability of estimates of body width and their relationship to current measured body size among anorexic and normal subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

David I. Ben-Tovim  and
Arthur H. Crisp
David I. Ben-Tovim*
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, Atkinson Morley's Hospital, London
Arthur H. Crisp
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, Atkinson Morley's Hospital, London
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr D. I. Ben-Tovim, Department of Psychiatry, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

Normal and anorexic subjects' estimates of their own body width were obtained. The estimates were reliable measures, but they did not correlate with the subjects' actual body widths. The implications of this finding especially when relating anorexic patients' self-perceptions to their clinical outcome, are discussed. It seems preferable to use such estimates untransformed by division with the subjects' actual body widths.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , November 1984 , pp. 843 - 846
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnhorff, F. N. & Mehl, M. C. (1963). Body image deterioration in paraplegia. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 137, 88–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Tovim, D. I. (1980). Anorexia nervosa and studies of an aspect of body experience. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation: University of London.Google Scholar
Ben-Tovim, D. I., Hunter, M. & Crisp, A. H. (1977). Discrimination and evaluation of shape and size in anorexia nervosa: an exploratory study. Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry and Behaviour 2, 241–257.Google Scholar
Ben-Tovim, D. I., Whitehead, J. & Crisp, A. H. (1979). A controlled study of the perception of body width in anorexia nervosa. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 23, 267–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Button, E. J., Fransella, F. & Slade, P. D. (1977). A reappraisal of body perception disturbance in anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 7, 235–243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Casper, R. C., Halmi, K. A., Goldberg, S. L., Eckert, E. D. & Davis, J. M. (1979). Disturbances in body image estimation as related to other characteristics and outcome in anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry 134, 60–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crisp, A. H. & Kalucy, R. S. (1974). Aspects of the perceptual disorder in anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Medical Psychology 47, 349–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dally, P. (1969). Anorexia Nervosa. Heinemann: London.Google Scholar
Feighner, J. P., Robins, E., Guze, S. B., Woodruff, R. A., Winokur, G. & Munoz, R. (1972). Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry 26, 57–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuhrer, M. J. & Cowan, C. O. (1967). Influence of active movements, illumination and sex on estimates of body part size. Perceptual and Motor Skills 24, 979–985.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garfinkel, P. E., Moldofsky, H. & Garner, D. M. (1979). The stability of perceptual disturbances in anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine 9, 703–708.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garner, D. M., Garfinkel, P., Stancer, H. C. & Moldofsky, H. (1976). Body image disturbances in anorexia nervosa and obesity. Psychosomatic Medicine 38, 327–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hsu, L. K. G., Crisp, A. H. & Harding, B. (1979). Outcome of anorexia nervosa. Lancet i, 61–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, H. G. & Russell, G. F. M. (1975). Value of family background and clinical features as predictors of long-term outcome in anorexia nervosa: a four-year follow-up study of 41 patients. Psychological Medicine 3, 355–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, G. F. M. (1967). The nutritional disorder in anorexia nervosa: its identity as an illness and its treatment. In Modern Trends in Psychosomatic Medicine (ed. Price, J. H.). Butterworths: London.Google Scholar
Slade, P. D. & Russell, G. F. M. (1973). Awareness of body dimensions in anorexia nervosa – cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Psychological Medicine 3, 188–199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Theander, S. (1970). Anorexia nervosa. A psychiatric investigation of 94 female patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplement 214, 23.Google ScholarPubMed
Wingate, B. A. & Christie, M. J. (1978). Ego strength and body image in anorexia nervosa. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 22, 201–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed