title: Multifactorial assessment of bulimia nervosa.
abstract: We investigated a multifactorial approach to the assessment of bulimia nervosa by means of hierarchical factor analysis. Two hundred forty-five bulimia nervosa patients and 68 patients with either anorexia nervosa or eating disorders not otherwise specified were administered a self-report battery that was organized into 21 dimensions relevant to eating disorder patients. When dimensions from this battery were subjected to hierarchical factor analysis, support for bulimia nervosa as a unique diagnostic category was obtained. However, the emergence of 3 secondary factors and 6 primary factors suggests that bulimia nervosa can also be described more complexly. The emergence of a multifactorial model of bulimia nervosa that incorporates several existing undimensional models suggests the potential for both divergent and complicated clinical presentation in bulimia nervosa patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Illinois 60640.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staats
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Dennis
mesh_terms: D002032:Bulimia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory