Bulimia: Clinical description, assessment, etiology, and treatment

The first section of this paper presents a clinical picture of the bulimic based upon descriptive research on this eating disorder. Assessment techniques, primarily a group of recently developed questionnaires, are then briefly discussed. Tables are included to summarize descriptive clinical research and information on the various assessment instruments. The remainder of the paper presents and evaluates proposed etiologies and treatment approaches for bulimia. Strengths and weaknesses in the current DSM-III definitional criteria for bulimia are pointed out. The importance of considering possible subgroups of bulimics and the relationship between anorexia nervosa and bulimia in future research are emphasized.