Exploring the relationship between the body self and personality defence mechanisms in women with bulimia nervosa

This study investigated the relationship between disorders of the body self and personality defence mechanisms of women with bulimia nervosa. It was hypothesized that women with bulimia nervosa would not form a homogeneous group in terms of the body self disorder and that the extent of this disorder would be significantly related to personality functioning in terms of the defence styles adopted. The hypothesis was investigated with the aid of two questionnaires: the Body Self Questionnaire (Mirucka, 2005) and the Defence Style Questionnaire by Andrews, Singh and Bond (1993). 36 women aged between 15 and 25 years, who fulfilled the DSM IV criteria for bulimia nervosa participated in the study. Conclusions from the study were that: (1) the body self of bulimic women is differentially disordered at three levels: profound, moderate and minimal. (2) the degree to which the body self was found to be disordered is significant in psychological terms as it is related to the defence style adopted by the bulimic personality. The profound and moderate levels of body self disorder related to immature defence styles, while minimal levels of disruption to body self were associated with neurotic and mature styles.

Triggers of Self-Induced Vomiting in Bulimic Disorders: The Roles of Core Beliefs and Imagery

Recent evidence has suggested a specific role for core beliefs in the triggering of bulimic behaviors. However, less is known about the role of imagery in this link despite its role in other disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the potential roles of core beliefs and imagery in triggering self-induced vomiting. Thirty bulimic women took part in a semistructured interview focusing on their mental processes prior to vomiting and completed a self-report measure of core beliefs. The results showed that prior to vomiting, a clinically significant proportion of bulimic patients reported thoughts relating to defectiveness/shame, failure, and social isolation core beliefs and associated feelings of shame and anxiety. Most patients perceived these feelings as triggers to their vomiting. A large number of bulimic patients also reported experiencing visual images prior to vomiting, and those images tended to be recurrent and linked to adverse life experiences. Overall, the findings suggest that defectiveness/shame, failure, and social isolation core beliefs and recurrent negative images (linked to adverse life experiences) may play important roles in the triggering of self-induced vomiting in bulimic disorders.