Anorexia Nervosa Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing key terms and concepts related to Anorexia Nervosa.

Anorexia Nervosa

A type of eating disorder in which an individual fears becoming obese and engages in self-starvation to prevent this from happening.

Family Studies on Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia runs in families; first-degree relatives have a ten times greater chance of developing the disorder, suggesting a potential genetic vulnerability.

Holland et al. Findings

Reported a concordance rate of 56% in MZ twins and 5% in DZ twins concerning anorexia nervosa.

Twin Studies on Anorexia Nervosa

Suggest high heritability, exemplified by Holland et al., though reliability is challenged by shared environments and treatment of MZ twins.

Adoption Studies on Anorexia Nervosa

Klump et al. studied twins in different environments, still finding high concordance rates, supporting genetic influence.

Serotonin's Effect on Anorexia

Influences appetite suppression and obsessiveness; high serotonin levels correlate with anxiety, and abnormal serotonin systems/low metabolite levels are observed.

Dopamine's Effect on Anorexia

Overactivity of dopamine in the basal ganglia is observed in individuals with anorexia, affecting the interpretation of harm and pleasure.

Neural System Involved in Anorexia

Limbic system dysfunction can lead to difficulty processing emotions and pathological thoughts and behaviors.

Autonomy

Freedom to make decisions and determine actions without external constraints.

Family Systems Theory

A psychodynamic explanation that views the family as a whole, where understanding requires looking at the entire system, not just individual members.

Characteristics of the Psychosomatic Family

Enmeshment, control/overprotectiveness, rigidity, and lack of conflict resolution/avoidance.

Minuchin's Conflict Patterns

Triangulation, parent-child coalition, and detouring.

Social Learning in Anorexia

Learning through observation and imitation of behaviors modeled by a role model; vicarious reinforcement increases the likelihood of imitation.

Maternal Role in Anorexia Development

Similarities between mother and daughter in restrained eating, dieting behaviors; mothers who complain about their weight are more likely to have children with weight concerns.

Peer Influence in Anorexia Development

Important during adolescence, including friend group dieting and group efforts.

Media Influence in Anorexia Development

Media influence can lead to body image comparisons and desires for thinness

Distortions

Misperceptions where what is perceived by the individual does not match reality, stemming from comparisons that lead to self-disgust and weight loss attempts.

Murphy et al. Study

Found that the AN group overestimated their silhouette size, while healthy individuals did not, indicating cognitive distortions.

Irrational Beliefs

Unhelpful, illogical, and inconsistent beliefs.

Irrational Beliefs Link to Anorexia

Absolutist thinking, catastrophizing, and never-ending perfectionism.

Cognitive Behavioral Model

Highlights common characteristics among people with anorexia, such as perfectionism and self-doubt; not eating is positively reinforced by compliments.

Transdiagnostic Model

Views anorexia symptoms as manifestations of a broadly defined eating disorder with the same underlying cognitive distortions.

How is the restrictive nature of anorexia maintained?

An enhanced sense of self-control leads to increased self-esteem

physiological and psychological changes (starvation) are perceived as a failure of self-control, increasing reliance on food restriction

focus on weight leads to increased self-monitoring, with any weight gain perceived as too slow, intensifying restrictive efforts.