Eva Schoen

Males and Eating Disorders: Gender-Based Therapy for Eating Disorder Recovery

Mental health professionals may wonder how males with eating disorders differ from females with eating disorders and how best to treat males with eating disorders. The eating disorder literature largely focuses on females. Limited research has examined assessment and treatment of eating disorders in males. This article offers a unique view of eating disorder treatment for males by integrating it with the literature on the psychology of men. Mental health professionals are given practical suggestions to guide eating disorder recovery in males. A case example shows treatment considerations for working with males with disordered eating behaviors.

A Retrospective Look at the Internal Help-Seeking Process in Young Women With Eating Disorders

This qualitative study retrospectively explored the help-seeking process in women with eating disorders. Interviews were conducted with 14 college-age women suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder NOS. Grounded theory was utilized to develop a preliminary model of the help-seeking process. Participants described a gradual shift from denial to increased awareness of self and the impact of the illness. This core process was transient in nature and influenced by interpersonal feedback, critical incidents, the womens general attitude toward help- seeking, and prior treatment experiences. Implications for clinicians include an increased focus on the transient awareness of self and the illness.

Coping After Bone Marrow Transplantation: The Predictive Roles of Optimism and Dispositional Coping

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is an invasive and taxing treatment for certain cancers. This study investigated the psychological constructs of optimism and dispositional coping and their relative predictive role for situational coping. Participants were 85 cancer patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of T-cell depletion for prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) who completed baseline and 1-year interviews. Results of simultaneous regression analyses showed that optimism did not predict situational instrumental or palliative coping strategies but was negatively predictive of situational avoidant coping. Each of the three situational coping strategies was most strongly predicted by the corresponding dispositional coping strategy.

Existential Meaning Through Illness: The Case of Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract This study probed the effects of both level of existential meaning and coping processes on quality of life for patients with breast cancer. Results of bivariate correlation analyses with a sample of 248 women one to five years after diagnosis showed that a high level of meaning was strongly correlated with a high quality of life (r= .448, p <.01). A negative relationship between coping processes and quality of life signaled an association between higher frequency of coping and decreased quality of life (r= -.331, p <.01). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that existential meaning and coping each contributed significantly to the variance in quality of life. In contrast to theories of coping, existential meaning and coping were unrelated constructs in the present study.

Gender bias, other specified and unspecified feeding and eating disorders, and college students: a vignette study

ABSTRACT This vignette study examined perceptions of 237 male and female undergraduate students regarding two severity levels (low and high) of other specified (OSFED) and unspecified feeding and eating disorders (UFED) in their male and female peers. Multilevel modeling showed that female characters received stronger endorsements of eating pathology than male characters for similar symptom presentations. College men were more likely than college women to rate female characters as having eating disorders. Gender bias about eating disorders affected men and women differently in this study. Implications for gender-inclusive as well as gender-sensitive eating disorder outreach and prevention are discussed.

Gender conformity, self-objectification, and body image for sorority and nonsorority women: A closer look

ABSTRACT Sororities have been identified as placing young women at risk for body image concerns due to a focus on traditional gender role norms and objectification of women. Objective: This study assessed the relationship between conformity to feminine gender role norms, self-objectification, and body image surveillance among undergraduate women. Participants: In a random sample of undergraduates, the authors examined data from sorority and nonsorority women. Methods: In a random sample of undergraduate women, the authors assessed the impact of traditional feminine gender role norms on self-objectification, body image, and feedback regarding physical appearance for sorority and nonsorority undergraduate women. Results: Three linear regressions were conducted, and only conformity to feminine gender role norms contributed significantly in each regression model. Conclusions: Regardless of sorority membership, conformity to feminine gender role norms was found to significantly contribute to increased body consciousness, negative body image, and feedback on physical appearance.