Perceptions of control over eating disorder and social behaviors

Clinicians have long recognized that eating-disordered individuals experience themselves as having limited control in important spheres of life. Unfortunately, researchers have tended to address control as a unidimensional construct. This study examined the multidimensional nature of perceived control. Specifically, the relationship between eating disorder characteristics and perceptions of control over ordinary social behaviors and eating-disordered behaviors was investigated. Measures of subjective perceptions of control over social and symptomic behaviors along with standard eating disorder inventories were administered to 84 male and 198 female undergraduate volunteers. Results indicate markedly different gender-linked patterns of perceived control. Eating disorder characteristics were associated with perceptions of symptomatic dyscontrol. Finally, interpersonal context significantly affected perceptions of control. This investigation underscores the importance of conceptualizing control in a multidimensional manner.