The Bulimia Test was revised (BULIT-R) to accommodate the DSM-III-R criteria of bulimia nervosa. A 28-item, self-report, multiple-choice scale was developed by comparing responses of clinically identified female bulimics with those of female college students. Cross-validation was performed on independent samples of bulimic and college control subjects. The BULIT-R was a good predictor of group membership. The scale was then completed by female college students, and a stratified sample of these subjects was retested and interviewed approximately 2 months later. The results of retesting and diagnostic judgments based on interviews showed that the BULIT-R was a reliable and valid predictor of bulimia nervosa in a nonclinical population. The BULIT-R correlated highly with 2 other measures of bulimia, indicating a high degree of construct validity.
Several existing conceptual models and psychological interventions address or emphasize the role of emotion dysregulation in eating disorders. The current article uses Gratz and Roemer’s (2004) multidimensional model of emotion regulation and dysregulation as a clinically relevant framework to review the extant literature on emotion dysregulation in anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Specifically, the dimensions reviewed include: (1) the flexible use of adaptive and situationally appropriate strategies to modulate the duration and/or intensity of emotional responses, (2) the ability to successfully inhibit impulsive behavior and maintain goal-directed behavior in the context of emotional distress, (3) awareness, clarity, and acceptance of emotional states, and (4) the willingness to experience emotional distress in the pursuit of meaningful activities. The current review suggests that both AN and BN are characterized by broad emotion regulation deficits, with difficulties in emotion regulation across the four dimensions found to characterize both AN and BN, although a small number of more specific difficulties may distinguish the two disorders. The review concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of the findings, as well as a summary of limitations of the existing empirical literature and suggestions for future research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.