Confirmation among college women: the eating disorders not otherwise specified diagnostic profile.
Previously, the researchers proposed and tested a diagnostic framework for women with eating-related concerns who seek college health and mental health treatment. The framework emphasized moderate problems characterized by frequent binging, occasional purging, and frequent exercise; rumination; body image and self-esteem concerns; ambivalence about help seeking; and developmental themes. Several questions remained about the framework's generalizability beyond women in treatment.


OBJECTIVE
In the current study, the authors provide new support for the framework's generalizability to college women with clinically significant eating concerns who do not seek treatment.


METHODS
Female students (N = 112) completed a screening instrument providing descriptive and comparative data about primary symptoms, associated features, and help seeking.


RESULTS
Results suggested that the framework is specific to women with eating problems and does not suffer the pitfalls of applying over-generally to all college women or all female patients and clients.


CONCLUSIONS
Implications for practice, research limitations, and remaining questions are discussed.
Schwitzer
Alan
A
Educational Leadership and Counseling, College of Education, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0157, USA. aschwitz@odu.edu
Hatfield
Tammy
T
Jones
Angela R
AR
Duggan
Molly H
MH
Jurgens
Jill
J
Winninger
Ali
A
D000328:Adult; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities