Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T02:40:47.866Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bulimia Nervosa: Family Size, Sibling Sex and Birth Order

A Catchment-Area Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

J. Hubert Lacey ,
S. G. Gowers  and
A. V. Bhat
J. Hubert Lacey*
Affiliation:
Adult Psychiatry Section, Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, Jenner Wing Level O, London SW17 0RE
S. G. Gowers
Affiliation:
Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Prestwich Hospital, Bury New Road, Manchester M25 7BL
A. V. Bhat
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Family size, sex of siblings and birth order were examined in 225 bulimic patients of normal weight, all stemming from the same circumscribed catchment area. Although bulimia can occur in any size family, all-female sibships were significantly over-represented. In small families at least, the bulimic patient was highly likely to be the only or eldest daughter. In small sibships, a bulimic who was first-born was significantly more likely to have a younger sister; if second-born she was more likely to have an elder brother. Despite the very large sample size, no final conclusion can be made on birth order.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 158 , Issue 4 , April 1991 , pp. 491 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1991 

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

Bruch, H. (1973) Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa and the Person Within. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Cobb, S. (1950) Emotions and Clinical Medicine. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1970) Reported birth-weights and growth-rates in a group of patients with primary anorexia nervosa (weightphobia). Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 14, 23–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1977) Some psychobiological aspects of adolescents' growth and their relevance for the fat/thin syndrome anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Obesity, 1, 231–238.Google ScholarPubMed
Crisp, A. H. (1980) Anorexia Nervosa – Let Me Be. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H., Hsu, L. K. G., Harding, B., et al (1980) Clinical features of anorexia nervosa. A study of a consecutive series of 102 female patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 24, 179–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dally, P. J. (1969) Anorexia Nervosa. London: William Heinemann.Google Scholar
Dolan, B. M., Evans, C. D. H. & Lacey, J. H. (1989) Family composition and social class in bulimia: a catchment-area study of a clinical and comparison group. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 177, 267–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garfinkel, P. E., Moldofsky, H. & Garner, D. M. (1980) Heterogeneity of anorexia nervosa. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 1036–1040.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garner, D. M. & Garfinkel, P. E. (1982) Body image in anorexia nervosa measurement, theory and clinical implications. International Journal of Psychiatric Medicine, 11, 263–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gowers, S. G. & Crisp, A. H. (1987) Anorexia nervosa – the structure of the sibship. In Eating Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults (eds E. Chigier & D. Hardoff), pp. 117–124. London: Freund & Co.Google Scholar
Hall, A. (1978) Family structure and relationships of 50 female anorexia nervosa patients. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 12, 263–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halmi, K. A. (1974) Anorexia nervosa: demographic and clinical features in 94 cases. Psychosomatic Medicine, 36, 18–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herzog, D. B. (1962) Bulimia: the secretive syndrome. Psychosomatics, 23, 481–487.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, D. W. K., Shapira, K. & Brandon, S. (1967) Early factors in anorexia nervosa compared with non-anorectic groups. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 133–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemsley, W. F. F. (1953) Annals of Eugenics, 16, 316–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lacey, J. H. (1983) Bulimia nervosa, binge-eating and psychogenic vomiting: a controlled treatment study and long-term outcome. British Medical Journal, 286, 1609–1631.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lacey, J. H. (1984) The bulimic syndrome. In Advanced Medicine 20 (ed. A. Ferguson), pp. 253–263. London: Royal College of Physicians/Pitmans.Google Scholar
Lacey, J. H. (1986) An integrated behavioural and psychodynamic approach to the treatment of bulimia. British Review of Bulimia A Anorexia Nervosa, 1, 19–26.Google Scholar
Lacey, J. H., Coker, S. & Birtchnell, S. A. (1986) Bulimia: factors associated with its etiology and maintenance. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, 475–487.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, J. S. & Hare, E. H. (1969) Birth order studies: zone sources of bias. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 633–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowland, C. V. (1970) Anorexia nervosa. International Psychiatric Clinics, 7, 37–137.Google ScholarPubMed
Slater, E. (1962) Birth order and maternal age of homosexuals. The Lancet, 13, 69–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theander, S. (1970) Anorexia nervosa: a psychiatric investigation of 94 female patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (suppl. 214).Google ScholarPubMed
Vandereycken, W. & Pierloot, R. (1983) The insignificance of sub-classification in anorexia nervosa. A comparative study of clinical features in 141 patients. Psychological Medicine, 13, 543–549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, S. & Ebert, M. (1983) Psychological and behavioural characteristics of normal-weight bulimics and normal-weight controls. Psychological Medicine, 45, 293–303.Google ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.