Work

Research Review: Two pathways toward impulsive action: an integrative risk model for bulimic behavior in youth

Year: 2014

Type: review

Abstract: BACKGROUND: This study provides an integrative review of existing risk factors and models for bulimia nervosa (BN) in young girls. We offer a new model for BN that describes two pathways of risk that may lead to the initial impulsive act of binge eating and purging in children and adolescents. SCOPE: We conducted a selective literature review, focusing on existing and new risk processes for BN in this select population. FINDINGS: We identify two ways in which girls increase their risk to begin engaging in the impulsive behavior of binge eating and purging. The first is state-based: the experience of negative mood, in girls attempting to restrain eating, leads to the depletion of self-control and thus increased risk for loss of control eating. The second is personality-based: elevations on the trait of negative urgency, or the tendency to act rashly when distressed, increase risk, particularly in conjunction with high-risk psychosocial learning. We then briefly discuss how these behaviors are reinforced, putting girls at further risk for developing BN. CONCLUSIONS: We highlight several areas in which further inquiry is necessary, and we discuss the clinical implications of the new risk model we described.

Source: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12214

Authors: Carolyn M. Pearson, Elizabeth N. Riley, Heather A. Davis, Gregory T. Smith

Institution: University of Kentucky

Language: English

Topic: Eating Disorders and Behaviors

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism