Body-Image Disturbances in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

1982 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 715-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirja Kalliopuska

Body-image disturbances are studied by the Draw-A-Person test given to the anorexia nervosa group of 32 and a control group of 30. The Machover scoring system was used. Two new scales were also constructed, the index of disturbed body image and the unity index of the body image. Machover's method differentiated groups from each other statistically significantly including the new ones: the unity index of body image made by Kalliopuska and Siimes in 1980 and Kalliopuska's index of disturbed body image in 1981. Factor analysis of items gave six factors: severe body-image disturbance, body-image adequacy, hostility, regression, unsureness and faltering in body image, and ego-identity problem. Body-image projections varied greatly as the nature of anorexia nervosa is multidimensional.

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S353-S353
Author(s):  
M. Ivanov ◽  
N. Platonova ◽  
G. Kozlovskaya

IntroductionThe body image development begins at an early age. Children with psychopathology may have body image disturbances. It is important to determine nosological specificity of body image disturbances in children.ObjectivesTo reveal body image disturbances in: 20 people (12 boys, 8 girls) having schizophrenia; 18 people (8 boys, 10 girls) with detected fact of sexual abuse (catamnesis study over a 5-year period); control group – 5 boys, 5 girls with normal psycho-physical development.AimsTo reveal body image disturbance in children in case of psychopathology.MethodsAll the children were examined clinically and paraclinically by psychiatrist and clinical psychologist (projective techniques; standardized personality questionnaires and semantic method [analysis of statements]).Results and conclusionsIn children having schizophrenia specific disturbances of proprioceptive self-awareness in the form of senestopathy (feelings of compression, deformation, size loss or size gain of the body) and the idea of physical defect, are considered as the early symptoms of the body dysmorphic disorder. In this group of children disturbances of body scheme, difficulties in right/left orientation were detected. In the group of children with detected fact of sexual abuse the following disturbances took place: the body dysmorphic disorder (self-disgust, considering body to be tainted by the abuser, feeling dirty, compulsive body washing, sensitivity to touch) and senestopathy below one's waist, in the area of genitals, feeling dirtiness of the skin and clothes. In the pictures drawn by the children, they represented themselves older, grotesquely painted their faces, pictured strange haircuts, preferring bright and extravagant clothes.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


1981 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 224-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Garner

Despite much recent interest in the objective measurement of body image in anorexia nervosa, many questions remain regarding basic mechanisms responsible for the findings as well as their meaning in the disorder. It is unclear if “whole body” measures assess the same underlying phenomena as the “body part” method, and it is unclear if body image disturbances are etiologic or a byproduct of anorexia nervosa. The possible association between self-esteem and body satisfaction and the relationship of the latter variable to actual size estimation supports the hypothesis that size perception may be closely tied to satisfaction with non-physical aspects of self. Finally it must be determined if over estimation is a function of a general psychological disturbance or of a deficit of specific interest in this disorder. Despite these questions, the way in which anorexic patients see themselves as well as the cognitive and affective responses to this perception remains an interesting and potentially fruitful area of study with this disorder.


1995 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Molinari

The aim was to explore the body-image perception of a group of 20 hospitalised anorexic patients, aged 18 to 21 years, undergoing a period of treatment. The instrument used was the Askevold nonverbal perception test as modified by Allamani and colleagues in 1978 to assess perception of the dimensions of different parts of the body by exploiting the capacity to project them into space. The four parts were the head, the thoracic area, the abdominal area, and the pelvic area. Analysis of responses indicated that anorexic patients overestimated the abdominal and the pelvic areas much more than the 20 members of the control group (50% vs 30%). The areas of the head and thorax were perceived almost in their real dimensions by the anorexic patients but were underestimated by the control group.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 236-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie C. Uys ◽  
Douglas R. Wassenaar

The literature is inundated with studies reporting the body image experiences of anorexia nervosa patients and normal weight people. Such studies have not, however, yielded consistent results. The present study reinvestigated the issue bearing in mind the theoretical and methodological limitations of previous research. The perceptual and affective aspects of body image were investigated in 11 white, female anorexic patients and 51 white, female psychology undergraduate university students. A combination of the movable caliper technique and image-marking procedure was used to assess body size perception, that is, the perceptual aspect, and the Body Cathexis scale was used to assess body satisfaction, that is, the affective aspect. It was found that anorexic females overestimate the width of their waist and thighs significantly more than normal females ( p < 0.05) and that they have a significantly lower body satisfaction ( p < 0.001). It was concluded that the DSM IV criterion of a disturbance in body image has specific diagnostic relevance in anorexia nervosa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi111-vi112
Author(s):  
Tito Mendoza ◽  
Lindsay Rowe ◽  
Elizabeth Vera ◽  
Alvina Acquaye ◽  
Mark Gilbert ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION Alopecia manifests in many cancer patients receiving therapy. These patients may experience similar physical symptoms and impairment as patients with autoimmune alopecia areata. The Alopecia Areata Symptom Impact Scale (AASIS) was originally validated for patients with autoimmune disorder. However, the validity and reliability of the AASIS among primary brain tumor (PBT) patients has not been evaluated. METHODS A cross sectional survey of 100 PBT patients was conducted as part of an IRB approved prospective protocol using structured questionnaires and open-ended responses. Participants completed the AASIS to measure symptoms of alopecia areata and their impact on daily functioning along with the Body Image Scale (BIS) to assess the prevalence of body image disturbance. Analyses included factor analysis to determine the number and nature of underlying constructs, Cronbach’s alphas to assess reliability, and correlational analysis to establish concurrent validity. RESULTS Patients’ median age was 48(range 23– 74), and 56% were male. Glioblastoma was most common (32%); low grade tumors (I and II) were 30% of diagnoses. The median time from initial diagnosis was 5 years (range 0–22), and 64% of patients had a KPS of 90–100. An item from the AASIS, ‘body hair or eyelashes loss’, was deemed to be irrelevant, rated low by PBT patients and was removed. Factor analysis revealed 3 underlying constructs: physical (e.g. itchy skin, scalp hair loss), affective (e.g. feeling anxious, feeling sad) symptoms, and impact of alopecia (e.g. work, quality of life) with Cronbach’s alphas of 0.78, 0.89 and 0.96, respectively. The BIS had the highest correlation with the affective symptom subscale (0.58, p< .001). CONCLUSION Our results demonstrate the desired reliability and validity for use in studies examining alopecia and its impact in PBT patients. Dropping the term ‘areata’, the modified tool is now ASIS, and can be implemented in future studies.


Author(s):  
Lorenzo Moccia ◽  
Eliana Conte ◽  
Marianna Ambrosecchia ◽  
Delfina Janiri ◽  
Salvatore Di Pietro ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Anorexia nervosa-restrictive subtype (AN-R) is a life-threatening disorder relying on behavioural abnormalities, such as excessive food restriction or exercise. Such abnormalities may be secondary to an “objectified” attitude toward body image and self. This is the first study exploring the impact of anomalous self-experience (ASEs) on abnormal body image attitude and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology in individuals with AN-R at onset. Methods We recruited Italian female participants, 40 with AN-R (mean age 18.3 ± 2.3) and 45 age and educational level-matched healthy controls (HCs) (mean age 18.2 ± 2.6). ASEs, body image attitude, and ED symptom severity were assessed through the examination of anomalous self-experience (EASE), the body uneasiness test (BUT), and the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q), respectively. We conducted multivariate analysis of variance to investigate distribution patterns of variables of interest, and mediation analysis to test the effect of ASEs and body image on ED symptomatology. Results Individuals with AN-R scored higher than HCs on the EASE (p < .0001). A direct effect of ASEs on ED severity (p = 0.009; bootstrapped LLCI = 0.067, ULCI = 0.240) was found in AN-R. After modelling the effect of abnormal body image attitude, the relationship between EASE total score and ED symptomatology was significantly mediated by BUT (p = 0.002; bootstrapped LLCI = 0.001, ULCI = 0.172). Conclusion Although the exact pathways linking AN-R to self-disorder remain to be identified, a broader exploration of transdiagnostic features in AN, including explorations of different dimensions of self-experience and intersubjectivity, may shed further light on the clinical phenomenology of the disorder. Level of evidence Level III, case–control analytic study.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (S2) ◽  
pp. 24-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Hirot ◽  
D. Guardia ◽  
M. Lesage ◽  
P. Thomas ◽  
O. Cottencin

ObjectiveBody image disturbances are core symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). This study investigated self-face recognition in cases of AN, and the influence of others factors associated with AN, such as massive weight loss.MethodFifteen anorexic female patients and 15 matched Healthy Controls (HC) performed a self-face recognition task. Participants viewed digital morphs between their own face and a gender-matched, unfamiliar other face presented in a random sequence (Fig. 1). For each stimulus, subjects were asked if they recognized their own face, and respond by selectively pressing a button on a computer. Participants’ self-face recognition failures, cognitive flexibility, body concerns and eating habits were assessed, respectively, with the Self-Face Recognition Questionnaire (SFRQ), the Trail Marking Task (TMT), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2).Fig. 1Examples of stimulus. For each subject, a photograph of an unfamiliar face was digitally morphed into a photograph of the subject's face in 10% increments.resultsAnorexic patients showed a significantly greater difficulty than healthy control in identifying their own face (P = 0.028, Fig. 2). No significant difference was observed between the two groups for TMT (all P > 0.1). However, analysis did not reveal significant correlations between behavioral data and the EDI-2 or BSQ (all P > 0.1). A correlation analysis revealed a significant, negative correlation with BMI (P < 0.001) and the SFRQ “self-face recognition” subscale (P = 0.015). Fig. 2Self response rates per stimulus ranked in increasing order of familiarity (other to self) in both groups.DiscussionWe observed a decrease in self-face recognition, correlated with BMI, suggesting this disturbance could be linked to massive weight loss. It thus supports the theory of a lack of ability to update body image by the central nervous system, underlying self-images distortion in AN patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Lin Toh ◽  
Sally A Grace ◽  
Susan L Rossell ◽  
David J Castle ◽  
Andrea Phillipou

Objectives: Anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder share a hallmark clinical feature of severe body image disturbance. This study aimed to document major demographic and clinical characteristics in anorexia nervosa versus body dysmorphic disorder, and it was the first to compare specific body parts related to body image dissatisfaction across these disorders directly. Methods: Anorexia nervosa ( n=26) and body dysmorphic disorder ( n=24) patients were administered a range of clinical measures, including key questions about the specificities of their body image concerns. Results: Results revealed increased psychiatric and personality co-morbidities in anorexia nervosa relative to body dysmorphic disorder. The anorexia nervosa group was mostly preoccupied with three body zones typically linked to weight concerns, whereas the body dysmorphic disorder group fixated on facial features, hair and skin. Conclusions: These findings may help inform differential diagnosis in complex cases and aid in the formulation of targeted interventions.


1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Riva

The Virtual Environment for Body Image Modification (VEBIM) is a set of tasks aimed at treating body-image disturbances and body dissatisfation associated with eating disorders. Two methods are commonly used to treat body-image disturbance: (1) a cognitive-behavioral therapy to influence patients' feelings of dissatisfaction and (2) a visual-motorial therapy, with the aim of influencing the level of bodily awareness. VEBIM tries to integrate these two therapeutical approaches within an immersive virtual environment. The choice of VEBIM would not only make it possible to intervene simultaneously on all of the forms of bodily representations but also to use for therapeutical purposes the psychophysiological effects provoked on the body by the virtual experience. The paper describes the VEBIM theoretical approach and its characteristics; it also presents a study on a preliminary sample (72 normal subjects) to test the efficacy of this approach.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document