DISSOCIATION AND DEPRESSION IN EATING DISORDERS

Measures of dissociation and depression were obtained from 26 women wi th anorexia nervosa, 18 with bulimia nervosa, and 31 non eating disord ered controls using the Questionnaire of Experiences of Dissociation ( Riley, 1988) and the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock and Erbaugh, 1961). Eating disordered subjects scored significan tly higher on both dissociation and depression than non eating disorde red subjects. A moderate positive correlation was found between dissoc iation and depression in both the anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa groups. The data are discussed in terms of previous research and poss ible future studies. The necessity for further enquiry of the role of dissociation in the etiology of eating disorders is underscored.