WORD-ASSOCIATION TEST AND PSYCHOSEXUAL CUES IN ASSESSING PERSONS WITHEATING DISORDERS

The present study aimed to detect psychosexual conflicts in patients w ith earing disorders using the Word Association Test which tests the p erceptual sensitivity of the subject to conflictual words. We also exp ected patients to show concern about food and eating. 19 anorexic pati ents, 21 bulimic patients, and 20 control subjects without eating diso rders provided associations to four groups to words: psychosexual word s, food words, emotionally loaded words, and neutral words. Reaction t imes were recorded. Analysis showed that anorexic patients were slower than controls in responding to food-related words but bulimic patient s were not significantly different from controls. Anorexic patients re acted more slowly than controls to psychosexual words. Bulimic patient s mere also somewhat slower than controls but faster than anorexic pat ients; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Results are congruent with research that points to sexual problems and delays in the psychosexual development of anorexic patients and to a lesser extent of bulimic patients.