STRESS, COPING, AND CRISIS SUPPORT IN EATING DISORDERS

Objective: Recent research has supported the role of stress in the dev elopment and maintenance of eating disorders. However, coping and cris is support, important aspects of this stress process, have received li ttle systematic attention. The cognitive-transactional approach to cop ing emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the individu al and the particular problematic situation and yet most studies inves tigating coping in eating disorders have failed to measure situation-s pecific coping. Method: The present study used semistructured intervie ws to measure coping and crisis support in response to severe events a nd/or marked difficulties in 12 women with anorexia nervosa (AN), 21 w omen with bulimia nervosa (BN), and 21 women without an eating disorde r (non-ED). Results: Women with eating disorders were more likely to u se cognitive avoidance or,cognitive rumination and were less likely to downplay their problems. In addition, BN subjects were more likely to blame themselves and were less likely to receive crisis support from a core-tie. Overall, women with eating disorders were less likely to b e masterful in response to crises than women without eating disorders. Discussion: It is concluded that women with eating disorders are less effective in their coping than women without eating disorders. (C) 19 98 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.