The role of culture in the development of eating disorders with special attention to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

[摘要] English: This study is an exploratory, empirically based investigation into the connectionbetween culture and anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as found in three selectedfemale groups. The specific objectives of the research were to obtain perceptualconceptualinformation concerning the individual's experience of her self and the bodyimage; to investigate the influence of familial factors such as the family environment,parent-child relationship, parental styles, discourses on weight, food consumption, andlifestyle present in the family; and to examine popular cultural influences, like thepressure for thinness expressed by peer groups and the visual as well as printed media.The literature study included subjects such as the relationship between food and culture;the history, characteristics of and approaches to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa;beauty standards and the fear of obesity in the Western culture; and the nature andinfluence of socialisation agents. The empirical research was carried out among 24Caucasian females between the ages of 14 and 28. Three different groups were formedwith Group 1 consisting of females already diagnosed with an eating disorder; Group 2comprising young females working part-time or full-time for a model agency; andGroup 3 comprising young females who are members of a dance school.Quantitative research information was obtained through the use of three standardisedquestionnaires, namely the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Socio-culturalAttitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ), and Eating Attitudes Test(EAT 40). However, the main emphasis in data gathering was qualitative in nature. Forthis purpose, a structured questionnaire was drawn up to obtain information on culturalinfluences. This was followed by semi-structured, in-depth interviews with all theresearch participants. Results of the analysed data revealed that the participants have athorough knowledge on calorie intake, dieting and various methods of controllingweight. All the participants are preoccupied and dissatisfied with their body size andshape. They have an almost irrational fear of obesity and go to extreme lengths tomaintain a slim and slender physique. Consciously or unconsciously, they allacknowledge the ideological influence of the Western ideal of thinness, which istransmitted, in equal intensity by family, peers and the media. Assumptions that womenshould eat less than men and watch their weight are rooted in the family experiences ofmost participants. This deep-seated belief in restraining women consequently influencesthe participants to model weight conscious behaviours practised in the family home. Inorder to conform to the societal pressure to be thin and to attract male counterparts, theparticipating girls also encourage each other to lose weight by suggesting dietingbehaviour. Competitions are held between peers regarding the most attractive femalephysique and teasing behaviour is said to occur in the event of girls not achieving theideal. In addition to family and peer influences, the media also enhances behaviouralmodelling by presenting a largely unattainable ideal of the thin, beautiful, successfulsuperwoman. Participants idealise and glorify the slender ideal and stars' and fashionmodels' bodies presented on television and in magazines are the ultimate in preferredphysiques. In addition, dietary products advertised by the media are often bought andseen as the last solution in the ongoing struggle to be slim.The essential conclusion is that eating/body problems among Western women cannot beunderstood outside the cultural settings in which they occur and will not be solvedunless cultural agents like the family, peers and the media undergo a paradigm shiftregarding the dangerous side of the slender female body ideal.

[发布机构] University of the Free State