title: Self-damaging and addictive behaviour in bulimia nervosa. A catchment area study.
abstract: This study examines the prevalence of self-damaging and addictive behaviour in a consecutive series of 112 normal-weight bulimic women all stemming from the same urban catchment area. A quarter reported consuming over 36 units of alcohol a week, and nine drank over 50 units. Twenty-eight per cent abused drugs, 21% repeatedly stole, 18% repeatedly overdosed, and 8% regularly cut themselves. In all, 40% reported self-damaging and addictive behaviour, 80% of whom gave a history of three or more behaviours together. Alcohol abuse was significantly associated with drug abuse and repeated overdosing; repeated cutting was significantly associated with drug abuse. Repeated stealing and overdosing were markers of severity and did not occur in isolation. A core group, termed and defined by the author as 'multi-impulsive bulimics', were older, less likely to be employed, married, or in a stable union, but were more likely to have an alcohol-abusing partner or to come from a family with a history of alcohol abuse. They were also more likely to give a history of sexual abuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health Sciences, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lacey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D013800:Theft