Eating Disorders Encompass a Wide Essay

First, which factors are most likely to influence the development of an eating disorder? What types of social environments are most conducive to healthy vs. unhealthy behavioral patterns? Social demographic issues including race, class, and gender may be taken into account to determine whether eating disorders are related to social norms. Pressure to conform to social norms about beauty and body image may also be related to how an eating disorder develops. Does the media have a direct, provable relationship to the development of distorted body image, unrealistic weight goals, or the acceptance of poor eating habits.

Social psychologists might also ask why are girls more likely than boys to develop eating disorders. What factors cause boys to develop eating disorders and how are they different from those that cause girls to develop the same behavioral problems? Second, researchers may want to investigate single social psychological variables including pressure to succeed in school; self-esteem; the presence of strong role models; and involvement in organized religion, sports, or other social networks. The social psychological approach cannot answer research questions related to biology or neurology, and also neglect to take into account personality variables unless combined with research in developmental psychology.

Developmental psychology focuses on individual differences in the development of eating disorders. Eating disorders do not manifest universally among certain demographic groups, and so developmental psychologists would ask research questions that help isolate causal factors such as patterns of reasoning and cognition or fluctuations in self-esteem and self-image. Moreover, the developmental approach involves a broad overview of psychological development, investigating which factors may have initially triggered an eating disorder and how that eating disorder develops in relation to time. Why do most eating disorders emerge during adolescence? Why do some individuals and not others show a predilection toward eating disorders during adolescence but not others? What are the main risk factors among adolescent populations? How can young people be counseled so that risks are minimized? How do issues like personal identity formation, cognitive development, and moral development impact disease evolution? The methods used by developmental psychologists include longitudinal studies among eating disordered populations, and case studies focusing on one or more individuals. Self-reports would be common among methods used. The developmental approach does not answer questions related to the genetic, biological, and neurological etiology of eating disorders but do address those psychological factors that may cause some individuals to develop anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive eating habits.

References

Kalat, J.W. (2004). Introduction to Psychology. Thompson/Wadsworth.