Relation among Self-Defeating Personality, Troubled Eating Patterns, and Dissociation

Significant small correlations were found between scores on a measure of self-defeating personality with scores on the Bulimia Test—Revised ( r = .27) and also scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale ( r = .20) for a sample of 165 college women. The correlation between the Bulimia Test and the Dissociative Experiences Scale was .26. Although the research literature led us to expect stronger relationships on theoretical and empirical grounds, it appears these small relationships were more likely due to the fact that scoring higher on all these measures indicates greater psychopathology.