title: Poor self-recognition of disordered eating among girls with bulimic-type eating disorders: cause for concern?
abstract: Bulimic-type eating disorders are common among young women and associated with high levels of distress and disability and low uptake of mental health care. We examined self-recognition of disordered eating and factors associated with this among female adolescents with bulimic-type eating disorders (n = 139) recruited from a large, population-based sample.
  
  
  
  A vignette of a fictional character with bulimia nervosa was presented, followed by a series of questions addressing the nature and treatment of the problem described. One of these questions required participants to indicate whether they currently had a problem such as the one described. Self-report measures of eating disorder symptoms, general psychological distress and quality of life were also completed.
  
  
  
  More than half of participants (58%) did not believe that they currently had a problem with their eating. In multivariable analysis, impairment in emotional well-being and self-induced vomiting were the only variables independently associated with self-recognition. Participants who recognized a problem with their eating were more likely to have sought treatment for an eating problem than those who did not.
  
  
  
  Recognition of disordered eating among adolescents with bulimic-type eating disorders may be poor and this may be a factor in low uptake of mental health care. Health promotion efforts may need to address the misconception that only bulimic-type disorders involving self-induced vomiting are pathological.
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Kassandra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gratwick-Sarll
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.|Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mond
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002032:Bulimia / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D057566:Self Report; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology
keywords: binge eating disorder; bulimia nervosa; eating disorders; mental health literacy; self-recognition