Bulimia Nervosa is a complex disorder for which there is not only one cause. Sónia Ferreira Gonçlaves, Bárbara César Machado, Carla Martins, and Paulo P.P. Machado devised a case control design study aimed to discover whether or not events that individuals faced in their pasts have a specific connection the development of Bulimia Nervosa, or if the past events are linked to the development of psychiatric/psychological disorders in general. By examining events that look place in women’s lives that look place one year prior to the development of the eating disorder, or lack thereof in the case of the control group, the researchers aim to determine the links between past events and the development of such disorders. The article “Eating …show more content…
The individuals within the groups were matched together by 1 year of age and within 2 social classifications of each other (i.e. high, high-medium, medium, medium-low, and low social class). According to the article, the individuals “on the healthy and psychiatric control groups were assigned an index age corresponding to the [onset age of Bulimia Nervosa] case to which they were matched” (Gonçlaves, Machado, Martins, P.P. Machado, 2014, p. 64). The “age of index” refers to the time in the individual’s in which they began to strictly control their diet, and began binge-purge eating. This matching was done to compare both groups separately, but based on similar life events, and reduce the effects of confounding variables. After matching, both groups were asked questions about their lives and past events they have experienced within one year of the age of index. The researchers coded the answers to these questions and the codes were …show more content…
They also reported 4.5 times more criticisms about their weights and shapes compared to the control group. Ten of the women who were diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa reported physical abuse, compared to only one woman in the control group. Those with the eating disorder indicated 2.8 times more life events like being bullied or going through a divorce compared to the control groups. Additionally, the women with Bulimia Nervosa reported experiencing 3 or more stressful life events compared to the control