Clinical Psychology: Revision Notes
ANOREXIA…
There are two broad types of anorexia:
-A restricting type: placing a severe restriction on the amount or type of food you eat - including
different food groups (eg: carbohydrates). They tend to skip meals, pay attention to calories and
have rigid thinking (eg: only eating food that is one colour). Restrictive behaviours may be
accompanied by excessive exercise.
-A Binge-eating/Purging type: place a severe restriction on the amount of food they eat, display
purging behaviour (wanting to get rid of the food from the body, eg - by self-induced vomiting or
deliberately misusing laxatives) and binge eating (eating a large amount of food uncontrollably).
Symptoms of anorexia:
A: Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to significantly low body weight
in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health (less than minimally
normal/expected).
B: Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat or persistent behaviour that interferes with
weight gain.
C: Disturbed by one’s body weight or shape, self-worth influenced by body weight or shape, or
persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of low body weight.
Severity:
Mild: BMI ≥ 17kg/m^2
Moderate: BMI 16-16.99kg/m^2
Severe: BMI 15-15.99kg/m^2
Extreme: BMI <15kg/m^2
Partial remission: After full criteria of anorexia previously met, criteria A has not been met for a
sustained period of time, but criteria B/C is still met.
Full remission: After full criteria of anorexia previously met, none of the criteria has been met
for a sustained period of time.
Features of anorexia:
- 10x more common in women.
- Women are 6x more likely to die from anorexia.
- Anorexia symptoms are usually first seen at around 14 years (after puberty) or early
adulthood.
, Guarida et al - 2012:
Aim: to investigate whether patients with anorexia find it difficult to gauge their own body size
and whether those difficulties extend to their perception of others.
Procedure: 25 females who meet criteria for anorexia - 12 with restricting type and 13 with
binge/purge type. Each group was matched for age and level of education. Each ppt was
required to complete 2 questionnaires: Body Shape Questionnaire (measures body satisfaction)
and Eating Disorder-Inventory-2 (measures weight and shape concerns). A door frame was
projected into a wall to give an illusion that the ppts could walk through it. 51 different widths
were projected which varied from 30-80cm. The projections were projected in random order, 4
times to each ppt. They were all asked, alone, to predict whether they think they can fit through
the ‘door frame’ at normal speed w/o turning to the side (first-person perspective). Then, they
were asked if a female researcher in the room with a similar BMI and shoulder width to the
control groups could fit through the ‘door frame’.
Findings: Guardia found that in a first-person perspective, people with anorexia have a
significantly higher passability ratio (they see themselves as large).
Conclusion: AN patients see their bodies as larger compared to the control group - patients are
not adapted to their body image.
Strength: One strength of the study is that it had good internal validity. This was due to the
matching of participants. The researchers matched the anorexia and control group based on
age and education level, to ensure that the only difference was that one group had anorexia and
the other didn't. This overall shows that the differences between the group’s perceived
passability ratio were due to mental health disorders.
Counterpoint: However the participants who had taken part in the study were young women
from a clinic in Lille. While women are still most likely to display symptoms of anorexia, it is still
possible for males to experience the disorder too who weren’t considered in the study.
Furthermore, other age groups and cultures weren’t considered in the study too. This shows
that the overall findings and conclusions cannot be representable to all patients.
Weakness: One weakness of the study could be that there was a potential confounding variable
that may have affected the results of the study. The researcher who took part in the third-person
perspective was more similar in body shape to the control group, more than the anorexia group.
This may have made it easier for the control group to judge their passability rating. This overall
shows that the differences between the 2 groups may not be valid, as the control group should
not have had someone take part who is similar in size to them.
ANOREXIA…
There are two broad types of anorexia:
-A restricting type: placing a severe restriction on the amount or type of food you eat - including
different food groups (eg: carbohydrates). They tend to skip meals, pay attention to calories and
have rigid thinking (eg: only eating food that is one colour). Restrictive behaviours may be
accompanied by excessive exercise.
-A Binge-eating/Purging type: place a severe restriction on the amount of food they eat, display
purging behaviour (wanting to get rid of the food from the body, eg - by self-induced vomiting or
deliberately misusing laxatives) and binge eating (eating a large amount of food uncontrollably).
Symptoms of anorexia:
A: Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to significantly low body weight
in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health (less than minimally
normal/expected).
B: Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat or persistent behaviour that interferes with
weight gain.
C: Disturbed by one’s body weight or shape, self-worth influenced by body weight or shape, or
persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of low body weight.
Severity:
Mild: BMI ≥ 17kg/m^2
Moderate: BMI 16-16.99kg/m^2
Severe: BMI 15-15.99kg/m^2
Extreme: BMI <15kg/m^2
Partial remission: After full criteria of anorexia previously met, criteria A has not been met for a
sustained period of time, but criteria B/C is still met.
Full remission: After full criteria of anorexia previously met, none of the criteria has been met
for a sustained period of time.
Features of anorexia:
- 10x more common in women.
- Women are 6x more likely to die from anorexia.
- Anorexia symptoms are usually first seen at around 14 years (after puberty) or early
adulthood.
, Guarida et al - 2012:
Aim: to investigate whether patients with anorexia find it difficult to gauge their own body size
and whether those difficulties extend to their perception of others.
Procedure: 25 females who meet criteria for anorexia - 12 with restricting type and 13 with
binge/purge type. Each group was matched for age and level of education. Each ppt was
required to complete 2 questionnaires: Body Shape Questionnaire (measures body satisfaction)
and Eating Disorder-Inventory-2 (measures weight and shape concerns). A door frame was
projected into a wall to give an illusion that the ppts could walk through it. 51 different widths
were projected which varied from 30-80cm. The projections were projected in random order, 4
times to each ppt. They were all asked, alone, to predict whether they think they can fit through
the ‘door frame’ at normal speed w/o turning to the side (first-person perspective). Then, they
were asked if a female researcher in the room with a similar BMI and shoulder width to the
control groups could fit through the ‘door frame’.
Findings: Guardia found that in a first-person perspective, people with anorexia have a
significantly higher passability ratio (they see themselves as large).
Conclusion: AN patients see their bodies as larger compared to the control group - patients are
not adapted to their body image.
Strength: One strength of the study is that it had good internal validity. This was due to the
matching of participants. The researchers matched the anorexia and control group based on
age and education level, to ensure that the only difference was that one group had anorexia and
the other didn't. This overall shows that the differences between the group’s perceived
passability ratio were due to mental health disorders.
Counterpoint: However the participants who had taken part in the study were young women
from a clinic in Lille. While women are still most likely to display symptoms of anorexia, it is still
possible for males to experience the disorder too who weren’t considered in the study.
Furthermore, other age groups and cultures weren’t considered in the study too. This shows
that the overall findings and conclusions cannot be representable to all patients.
Weakness: One weakness of the study could be that there was a potential confounding variable
that may have affected the results of the study. The researcher who took part in the third-person
perspective was more similar in body shape to the control group, more than the anorexia group.
This may have made it easier for the control group to judge their passability rating. This overall
shows that the differences between the 2 groups may not be valid, as the control group should
not have had someone take part who is similar in size to them.
