Five bulimic women. MMPI, Rorschach, and TAT characteristics

Five women between the ages of 21 and 46, obtaining high scores on the bulimic factor subset of the Eating Attitudes Test, were given comprehensive psychological test batteries. Their MMPI, Rorschach, and TAT protocols were analyzed for evidence of a bulimic pattern. Although a tendency to withdraw from meaningful relationships, difficulty with impulse control, and accessibility to parental pressure with diminished separation-fostering aggression were typical implications of the test results, the protocols were more conspicuous for their heterogeneity than for their homogeneity on nearly all dimensions. It is suggested that psychological test data, particularly from projective measures, can increase our understanding of bulimia and help to provide answers to persistent questions about this puzzling, although widespread, syndrome.