Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T15:13:28.315Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Childhood Sexual Experiences with Adults Reported by Women with Eating Disorders: An Extended Series

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

R. L. Palmer ,
R. Oppenheimer ,
A. Dignon ,
D. A. Chaloner  and
K. Howells
R. L. Palmer*
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
R. Oppenheimer
Affiliation:
Leicestershire Social Services Department and University of Leicester
A. Dignon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Leicester
D. A. Chaloner
Affiliation:
Leicestershire Health Authority
K. Howells
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham, University of Leicester
*
∗Academic Department of Psychiatry, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A total of 158 women presenting with clinical eating disorders have been investigated using a self-report questionnaire and subsequent interview concerning their recollections of sexual experiences with adults before the age of 16 and later adverse sexual experiences. About a third reported events in childhood and over half described some adverse experiences. It may be that these experiences are relevant to the subsequent illness in some cases, but greater certainty must await further research. In the meantime, inquiring about such matters would seem to be advisable in the assessment and therapy of eating-disordered patients.

Type
Lecture
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 5 , May 1990 , pp. 699 - 703
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

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

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM–III). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Bishop, Y. M. M., Fienberg, S. E. & Holland, P. W. (1975) Discrete Multivariate Analysis: Theory & Practice. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Browne, A. & Finkelhor, D. (1986) Impact of child sexual abuse; a review of the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 66–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calam, R. M. & Slade, P. D. (1989) Sexual experience and eating problems in female undergraduates. International Journal of Eating Disorder, 8, 391–397.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carmen, E., Rieker, P. P. & Mills, T. (1984) Victims of violence and psychiatric illness. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 378–383.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1980) Anorexia Nervosa; Let Me Be. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1984) The psychopathology of anorexia nervosa: getting the “heat” out of the system. In Eating and its Disorders (eds Stunkard, A. J. & Stellar, E.). New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1979) Sexually Victimised Children. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1984) Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1986) A Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Finn, S. E., Hartmann, M., Leon, G. R., et al (1986) Eating disorders and sexual abuse: lack of confirmation for a clinical hypothesis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5, 1051–1060.3.0.CO;2-I>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garfinkel, P. E. & Garner, D. M. (1982) Anorexia Nervosa; A Multidimensional Perspective. New York: Brunner Mazel.Google Scholar
Jacobson, A. & Richardson, B. (1987) Assault experiences of 100 psychiatric inpatients: evidence of the need for routine enquiry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 908–913.Google Scholar
Mullen, P., Romans-Clarkson, S., Walton, V., et al (1988) Impact of sexual and physical abuse on women's mental health. Lancet, ii, 841–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nash, C. L. & West, D. J. (1985) Sexual molestation of young girls: a retrospective survey. In Sexual Victimisation (ed. West, D. J.). Aldershot: Gower.Google Scholar
Oppenheimer, R., Howells, K., Palmer, R. L., et al (1985) Adverse sexual experiences in childhood and clinical eating disorder: a preliminary description. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 19, 357–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenfeld, A. A. (1979) Incidence of a history of incest among 18 female psychiatric patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 791–795.Google Scholar
Slade, P. D. (1982) Towards a functional analysis of anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 21, 167–179.Google Scholar
Sloan, G. & Leichner, P. (1986) Is there a relationship between sexual abuse or incest and eating disorders? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 656–660.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.