title: Sociotropy-dependency and autonomy as predictors of eating disturbance among Canadian female college students.
abstract: The authors (a) tested the generalizability of A. Sugarman, D. Quinlan, and L. Devenis's (1982) psychodynamic account of eating disturbances, which posits that overt autonomy strivings associated with eating problems are a defense against unconscious dependency concerns, and (b) evaluated the degree to which autonomy and sociotropy had unique associations with eating disturbances. Canadian female college students (N= 286) completed self-report measures of autonomy, sociotropy, depression, and bulimia as well as the Rorschach Inkblot Test. Findings suggest, contrary to Sugarman and colleagues' psychodynamic account, that experiences of dependency related to self-reported eating pathology do not necessarily lie outside of conscious awareness. Moreover, reported bulimic symptoms were uniquely associated with sociotropy but not autonomy-self-criticism among the participants.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Adult Psychiatry, Brandon General Hospital, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Narduzzi
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003469:Culture; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires