532 Chapter 13■ Eating disorders tend to emerge during adolescence.
■ It is during adolescence that girls experience body
changes (in particular, an increase in body fat), become
dissatisfied with their bodies, and become increasingly
concerned with their appearance and how others view
them. During adolescence, girls also recognize limiting
factors associated with the female gender role.
■ Contributing factors to eating disorders include genes,
gender roles, psychological factors (e.g., need for con-
trol and perfectionism), and the social environment.
■ Media exposure has been implicated in eating disorders for
both women and men. Experimental studies have shown
that media exposure affects girls’ views of their bodies.Suicide
In 1994, Kurt Cobain, 27 years old and lead
singer of the popular alternative rock band
Nirvana, committed suicide by shooting
himself. In 2005, Hunter S. Thompson, fa-
mous journalist and author, killed himself
with a gun outside his home at the age of 67.
Mark Madoff, the son of Bernie Madoff who
was convicted of the largest Ponzi scheme in
history, hung himself on the second anniver-
sary of his father’s arrest at age 46.
Despite the fact that women are more
depressed than men, men actually com-
mit suicide more frequently than women.
There is an even more interesting paradox:
Men commit suicide more frequently than
women, but women attempt suicide more
frequently than men. In this section of the
chapter, I provide statistical information on
suicide rates and attempts and then discuss
some of the factors associated with suicide
and suicide attempts in men and women.Incidence
Suicide is more common than people think.
Did you know more people die from suicidethese needs: Losing weight is a way to gain
control over one’s body and has the poten-
tial to enhance self-esteem. In a longitudinal
study of 12- to 16-year-olds, perfectionism
predicted anorexia over the next two to eight
years (Tyrka et al., 2002). Another study
showed that feelings of control and autonomy
were related to a lower incidence of disturbed
eating behavior in college women (Peterson,
Grippo, & Tantleff-Dunn, 2008). Many in-
vestigators have argued that eating disorders
emerge in women during adolescence be-
cause it is during this time that girls feel a loss
of control, become concerned with others’
views of them, and become aware of the limi-
tations of the female gender role with respect
to achievement (Silverstein & Perlick, 1995).
One way of responding to these challenges is
to exert control over weight. Consistent with
this theory, feelings of autonomy, control,
and empowerment are associated with a more
positive body image and less disturbed eating
in college women (Peterson et al., 2008).
Not surprisingly, a negative body image
is associated with eating disturbances (Peterson
et al., 2008). What is interesting though is that
it is the perception of being overweight rather
than actual weight that is associated with eat-
ing disturbances (Saules et al., 2009). Eating
disorders have been linked to a host of other
problems that female adolescents suffer, such
as anxiety and depression. Eating disorders are
one way that distress manifests itself among
these girls. However, the sex ratio of eating dis-
orders is much larger than the sex difference in
depression; thus eating disorders must be more
than a manifestation of psychological distress.TAKE HOME POINTS
■ There are three major kinds of eating disorders: an-
orexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disor-
der. Anorexia is the most lethal of the three.M13_HELG0185_04_SE_C13.indd 532 6/21/11 12:55 PM