THE PREVALENCE AND FAMILY CORRELATES OF EATING DISORDER TENDENCIES INOLDER WOMEN

Questions regarding the incidence of eating disorder tendencies and su pport for a conceptual model of specific family correlates of such ten dencies were examined in a non-clinical sample of 92 women over the ag e of 50. It was predicted that older women assessed as at-risk for dev eloping eating disorders would perceive their families as more conflic tual, less cohesive and expressive, and themselves as less independent of or differentiated from their family of origin. Results provided su pport for these predictions and also showed Achievement and Control fa ctors to be significantly related to eating disorder tendencies. Impli cations for further research and clinical practice are discussed.