Psychological Disorders 569from developing eating disorders may also still have a powerful influence on Chinese
American women.
One problem with studying anorexia and bulimia in other cultures is that the
behavior of starving oneself may be seen in other cultures as having an entirely differ-
ent purpose than in Western cultures. One key component of anorexia, for example, is a
fear of being fat, a fear that is missing in many other cultures. Yet women in those cul-
tures have starved themselves for other socially recognized reasons: religious fasting or
unusual ideas about nutrition (Castillo, 1997).
Anorexia and bulimia have also been thought to occur only rarely in African
American women, but that characterization seems to be changing. Researchers are seeing
an increase in anorexia and bulimia among young African American women of all socio-
economic levels (Crago et al., 1996; Mintz & Betz, 1988; Pumariega & Gustavson, 1994).
Eating disorders are present in males, and as compared to females, adolescent males may
be more likely to be diagnosed with anorexia than with bulimia. They may also be more
likely to have had a previous diagnosis of ADHD (Welch et al., 2015). There is also a high
rate of eating disorders among transgender individuals (Diemer et al., 2015; Haas et al.,
2014). If clinicians and doctors are not aware that these disorders can affect more than
the typical white, young, middle-class to upper-middle-class woman, important signs
and symptoms of eating disorders in non-white or non-Western people may allow these
disorders to go untreated until it is too late.
THINKING CRITICALLYHow might the proliferation of various media and the Internet affect the development of eating
disorders in cultures not previously impacted by them?
The response entered here will be saved to your notes and may be
collected by your instructor if he/she requires it.SubmitTREATMENT OF EATING DISORDERS What can be done to treat eating disorders?
If the weight loss due to anorexia is severe (40 percent or more below expected nor-
mal weight), dehydration, severe chemical imbalances, and possibly organ damage
may result. Hospitalization should occur before this dangerous point is reached.
In the hospital the individual ’s physical needs will be treated, even to the point
of force-feeding in extreme cases. Psychological counseling will also be part of the
hospital treatment, which may last from 2 to 4 months. Those individuals with
anorexia who are not so severely malnourished as to be in immediate danger can
be treated outside of the hospital setting. Psychological treatment strategies might
include supportive clinical management, interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral
therapy, group therapy, or family-based therapy (Hay, 2013). to Learning
Objective 15.6. The prognosis for full recovery is not as hopeful as it should be; only
40 to 60 percent of all individuals with anorexia who receive treatment will make
a recovery. For some individuals with anorexia who do gain weight, the damage
already done to the heart and other body systems may still be so great that an early
death is a possibility (Neumarker, 1997). Overall, the estimated mortality rate in
anorexia is highest among all of the eating disorders and much higher than any other
psychological disorder (Arcelus et al., 2011).
Treatment of bulimia can involve many of the same measures taken to treat anorexia.
In addition, the use of antidepressant medications can be helpful, especially those that
affect serotonin levels such as the SSRIs (Mitchell et al., 2013). The prognosis for recov-
ery of the individual with bulimia is somewhat more hopeful than that of anorexia. Ther-
apist-led cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best empirically supported therapy, and