Bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa with bulimia: A comparative analysis of MMPI profiles

The MMPI profiles of thirty-nine outpatient females were contrasted by diagnosis using DSM III criteria for bulimia and anorexia nervosa. The study sample was divided into three groups: restricting anorectics, bulimic anorectics and normal-weight bulimics. All three groups were highly correlated with each other (D2 =.841 —.945). Although depression was the peak scale for both anorectic groups, the bulimic anorectics were more depressed. The psychopathic deviate scale was the peak scale for the normal-weight bulimic sample. These findings reveal: 1) a similar constellation of personality features in each of the eating disorders; 2) that the depression scale is highly salient to both anorectic groups and the psychopathic deviate scale to both bulimic groups.