Transcript Anorexia nervosa - Mr Hansson's IB Psychology Website

Anorexia nervosa
By Mr Daniel Hansson
Anorexia nervosa
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Symptoms
Prevalence
Etiology
Evaluation
Conclusion
Symptoms (DSM-IV-TR)
Behavioural symptoms: Will not maintain
normal weight for their age and height, 85
% of an appropriate weight
Emotional symptoms: Extremely fearful of
gaining weight or being fat, even the
person is already underweight
Cognitive symptoms: Has a distorted view
of body shape and weight
Somatic symptoms: A female that misses
three menstrual cycles in a row
Prevalence
Lifetime prevalence of Anorexia
nervosa in females is 0.5%
 10 times more likely in females than
in males
 Onset age is usually between ages
14-18
 More common in western societies
but is increasing in eastern societies
because of globalization
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Etiology
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Biological
Cognitive
Sociocultural
Biological
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Genes
Appetite and weight
regulation imbalance
in hypothalamus (e.g.
the hormone Leptin)
Neurotransmitters,
e.g. serotonin
E.g. Mazzeo & Bulik
(2009)
Cognitive
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Attentional biases and cognitive
styles that distort reality/body image
E.g. Southgate et al. (2008)
Sociocultural
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Media exposure,
social learning
E.g. Becker et al.
(1995)
Evaluation
+Can be used for therapy
+Supporting research
-Methodological problems with
research
-Simplistic: Each perspective
emphasizes one factor
Conclusion
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An interactionistic explanation of
anorexia nervosa is preferable, e.g.
the diathesis-stress model or the
biopsychosocial model