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This study investigated the psychological correlates of treatment seeking for eating disorders in female college students. Results indicated that 56% of the 106 participants with eating-disorder symptomatology did not believe their behaviors warranted therapy. Women with eating-disorder symptoms who did not believe their behaviors warranted therapy exhibited higher levels of immature defenses and lower endorsement of sociocultural norms concerning attractiveness than did women who believed treatment was needed. These findings hold implications for the prevention and treatment of college women's disordered eating.

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The authors investigated the relationship between the cognitive and behavioral indicators of eating disorders and characteristics of codependency, including exaggerated caretaking and constricted emotion. In addition, the role of family environment was investigated through an assessment of separation from parents. College women who displayed more codependent characteristics evidenced higher levels of eating disordered behavior and conflictual separation from parents. The findings suggest that codependency may serve as an additional variable in the relationship between eating disorders and separation/individuation difficulties. Implications for counseling with college women are discussed.

This study examined the role of codependency in the relationship between stressful events and the development of eating disorders. Ninety-five undergraduate women completed the Codependency Assessment, the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Differentiation of Self Scale, and an open-ended questionnaire asking about stressful experiences, including relationships with alcoholic family members. Results supported the hypothesis that women who reported experience with an alcoholic significant other or a chronic stressful situation exhibited higher levels of eating disordered behavior. However, a family history of parental alcohol abuse alone did not result in differences in eating disorder symptoms. Further, women who exhibited more characteristics of codependency (e.g., caretaking, needs for control) also evidenced more eating disorder symptoms. The findings suggest a developmental sequence, whereby codependency mediates the relationship between excessive stress and the development of an eating disorder.