Psychological characteristics of women with eating disorders: Permanent ortransient features?

The purpose of the study was to make a psychological profile of Danish wome n with Eating Disorders, who were not currently hospitalized. 75 women betw een the ages of 19 and 46 years participated. 22 participants suffered from a clinical eating disorder (ED). 20 women had previously suffered from a c linical ED, and 33 women had never suffered from ED. The study included soc iodemographic data, problems in relation to eating and weight, exposure to stressful life events, and the following questionnaires: The Eating Disorde r Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Coping Styles Questionnai re, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Tr auma Symptom Checklist. Psychologically, women with ED differed significant ly from women without ED by using a more primitive defense style, perceivin g themselves as being more exposed to stress, using more inefficient method s of coping and having lower self-esteem. Unexpectedly, the study also show ed that recovery from an ED was resulting in normalisation of both behavior al and psychological characteristics. The implications of these findings ar e discussed.