SELF-CONCEPT AND NEED FOR SOCIAL APPROVAL IN BULIMIA

The present work concerns the relation between the need for social app roval (assessed as social desirability) and bulimia with respect to ge nder-differences. Since bulimia is mainly a female issue, a relationsh ip was predicted between the development of bulimia and the internaliz ation of a socially desired feminine sex-stereotype with respect to th e self-concept. The need for approval was assessed for male subjects, female subjects not suffering from eating-disorders, and female bulimi c subjects. The results show that bulimic women have significant highe r self-ratings concerning the need for approval. Without neglecting mu lticausal explications, the results suggest that social desirability a s an expression of social approval should receive more attention as a facilitating factor in the development of bulimia.