Annotated Bibiliography on Eating Disorders

Zabinski, F. M., Wilfley, E. D., Calfas, J. K., Winzelberg, A. J., & Taylor, B. C. (2004). An interactive psychoeducational intervention for women at risk of developing an eating disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, (5), 914-919. Retrieved February 4, 2005, from PsycINFO database.

The study explored the use of online involvement by using chat rooms, and message boards to deter eating disorders, and image dissatisfaction. Sixty women from a west cost university, who were all susceptible were chosen to participate in the study. They were randomly split into two groups, thirty in wait-list control, and thirty in intervention. The treatments occurred in three phases: improving eating behaviour, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention training, with synchronous and asynchronous support groups, homework assignments, and weekly summaries. The results of this study showed that the intervention group had improved significantly over the wait-list control group on most subscales, thus explaining the effectiveness of an online intervention for at-risk college aged women. The work was easily readable; however, the tables were not well explained to an untrained eye, perhaps gearing the article more towards psychologists, and psychiatrists that specialize in this field.

Gusella, J., Clark. S., & van Roosmalen, E.(2004). Body image self-evaluation colouring lens: comparing the ornamental and instrumental views of adolescent girls with eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 12, (4), 223-229. Retrieved February 4, 2005, from PhyscINFO database.

The aim of this research was to see how girls with eating disorders evaluated their bodies form against their bodies function. The Body Image Self-evaluation Colouring Lens (BISCL) is a visual means that differentiates ones view of the body as an ornament, and as an instrument. It was an ideal way to start discussions about body image in a psychoeducational group for girls with eating disorders. It made it easier for the girls to discuss lifestyle choices for their bodies when they viewed it from an ornamental lens as compared to an instrumental lens, and in turn, how the decisions that they make will impact the functions of their bodies. The results of this study suggest that the girls hold more of a negative body evaluation when they thought of their body as a form compared to when they thought of their body as a function. They were also more positive about their bodies when they made the shift to the instrumental lens. However, this study was limited by the small sample size as well as the clinical population of girls. It needs to be broadened to include clinical and non-clinical populations of girls as well as boys.

Safer, D. L., Agras, W. S., Lowe, M. R., Bryson, S. (2003). Comparing two measures of eating restraint in bulimic women treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36, (1), 83. Retrieved February 4, 2005, from PhyscINFO database.

The subject matter in this piece suggests that you need to have prior information about cognitive behaviour as well as bulimia nervosa. This makes the target audience for this study psychologists, and psychiatrists who specialize in the field of eating disorders as well as cognitive behavioural therapy. The study investigates the comparison of two different measures of dietary restraint and how they relate, and vary in many aspects. It also provides evidence that the Eating Disorders Examinations Restraint subscale (EDE-R) is more efficient in measuring changes in dietary restraint than the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire Cognitive Restraint subscale (TFEQ-CR). Overall the piece was very thorough, and it even stated how it might be improved by more testing, and also by narrowing down the construct of dietary restraint, which would enhance the researchers understanding of people’s response