Help-Seeking for Eating Disorders in Female Adolescents

This study represents an exploratory analysis of the factors preventing females from seeking counseling for eating disorder symptoms. High school junior and senior females (N = 238) completed assessments of eating disorders, attitudes toward counseling, and reasons for avoiding counseling for eating disordered behaviors. Results indicated that participants with moderate to high levels of eating disorder symptoms (49% of the sample) were not in therapy, primarily due to a perception that their behaviors were not problematic enough to merit counseling. Participants with eating disorder symptoms also reported that a fear of disclosure to others kept them from treatment. General attitudes toward psychotherapy were not related to participants' avoidance of needed psychological treatment. Implications of the findings for college counseling interventions are discussed.