DISSOCIATION AND THE SEVERITY OF BULIMIC PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AMONG EATING-DISORDERED AND NON-EATING-DISORDERED WOMEN

This study examines the relationship between dissociation and eating p sychopathology in bulimic women and a matched comparison group. The ea ting-disordered group had significantly higher scores on all scales of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES II). A preliminary investigat ion of the nature of the dimensional relationship between dissociation and bulimic behaviours was carried out among the eating-disordered wo men by examining the associations between specific aspects of eating p sychopathology and specific aspects of dissociation. The dissociative characteristic of depersonalization and derealization was positively c orrelated with scores on the bulimia and oral control subscales of the Eating Attitudes Test. The dissociative characteristic of amnesia was positively correlated with the bulimic behaviour of bingeing. The res ults are discussed in the context of current conceptualizations of bul imic behaviours and dissociation, which emphasize the defensive functi on of both these behaviours. Suggestions are made for further research , and the clinical implications of the findings are discussed.