BIASES IN THE PROCESSING OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF THREAT IN BULIMIC AND COMPARISON WOMEN

This study uses Stroop methodology to investigate cognitive biases in the processing of five different forms of threat in bulimic and compar ison women. The processing of different forms of threat was found to b e relatively independent: which suggests that the measures do not tap a unitary threat construct. As predicted, the bulimic women showed a g reater general attentional bias (interference effect) than the compari son women in color-naming threatening words. In the bulimic women, an attentional bias for specific forms of threat was positively correlate d with bulimic psychopathology. A strong association was found between bulimic characteristics and sensitivity to self-directed ego-threats and a less robust association with sensitivity to autonomy threats (th reats to personal control). The clinical implications of these finding s are discussed in light of recent formulations of bulimia, which sugg est that a function of bingeing and vomiting is to reduce the individu al's awareness of threat (e.g., aversive emotional states).