Adolescence and Eating Pathologies

Eating disorders have received growing attention by professionals as well as mass media (Shorter, Quinton et al. 2007). The most recent ISTAT data (Italian Institute for Statistics) reveal that about 3 million people (5% of the Italian population) suffer from these disorders, 90-95% females with two peaks of onset at 14 and at 18. Especially at this age, socio-cultural factors are crucial to the development of ideals (Tylche, Subich 2002), cognitions and expectations concerning body image (Schilder, 2002), nutrition and weight (Halmi, 2003). These factors can be divided into four main categories: ‘the cultural pressure to acquire a thin body; the change in the woman’s social role; the mythical character granted to eating disorders; the prejudice against obesity’ (Dalle Grave, 2007). So far, the literature on this subject, however wide, has provided no conclusive data with reference to related issues, such as psychiatric co- morbidities (Blinder et al, 2007). In particular, this study focused on the aspect of control, a significant feature of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder too, (Couturier, 2004) and on body-image disperception, peculiar to eating disorders (Neumark-Sztainer, 2000). To investigate co-morbidity between eating disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, a questionnaire including items of the Body Shape Questionnaire and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Dalle Grave, Ghisi, Calugi, 2006) was administered to a sample of adolescent students. The results provide significant correlations between Calculation Compulsions and the BSQ Behaviours variable, between Current Miscellaneous Compulsions and Body Image, between Current Miscellaneous Compulsions and Body Shape/Self Esteem. Therefore the study provides further evidence in support of co-morbidity.