Separation-Individuation Difficulties and Cognitive-Behavioral Indicators of Eating Disorders Among College Women

We tested the theoretical link between difficulties with separation-individuation and a set of cognitive-behavioral indicators characteristic of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. The results showed robust empirical relations; the pattern of associations for subjects' reported difficulties in separating from their mothers was somewhat more complex than those reported with respect to their fathers. Dependency conflicts and poor self-other differentiation were predictive of bulimia, the pursuit of thinness, an inability to discriminate feelings and sensations, distrust of others, immaturity, and beliefs about personal inadequacy. The findings support theoretical assertions about intrapsychic and familial factors that contribute to the etiology and maintenance of eating disorders and about the potentially serious emotional consequences for young women who fail to achieve a sense of psychological separateness.