A Developmental Lifespan Look at Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is defined as self-imposed starvation. The reasons for this very serious disease vary greatly and cannot be specifically pinpointed. However the causes not always know, one thing that is for sure is that anorexia nervosa is growing at alarming rates. Of all the disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate, over 10% (DSM-IV). This disorder has a female to male ratio of 10:1 (since the ratio is so distinct between the genders, the patient will be referred to as female throughout this paper). Anorexia is becoming a very serious disorder that is affecting several young women daily and needs to be taken more seriously in our society. "Eight million women have eating disorders in America" (Pipher, 1994, p.185). This paper looks at anorexia from a biopsychosocial model of development. It will further examine the disorder from a biological, psychological, and social perspective. But first, it is helpful to know more about the symptoms and associated features of anorexia.

In order for a girl to have a diagnosis of an eating disorder, she must meet all of the following characteristics (DSM-IV). First, there is a refusal to maintain a normal body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for her age and weight. Second, the patient has an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though she is underweight. Third, there is a disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced or there is a denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight. Fourth and finally needed for diagnosis is, in postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea or the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.