Restricter-purger differences in bulimic adolescent females

This study identifies variables that discriminated purging (n = 24) from restricting (n = 29) bulimic adolescent females within a high school setting. A discriminant function analysis identified six variables that significantly differentiated these two groups, including disturbed eating attitudes, a negative perception of body image and weight, involvement in a steady dating relationship, birth order, and marijuana use. Post hoc student's t-tests indicated significant differences between groups on only one variable. Purging bulimics viewed themselves as significantly more overweight, despite the absence of any significant difference in actual body weight deviation between groups. These findings implicate body image disturbance as related to the more severe behavioral manifestations of this disorder and suggest the emergence of a “restricter-purger” dimension among bulimic adolescent samples. Future research is needed to clarify the importance of this dimension in both adolescent and adult clinical populations.