抄録
Eating behavior plays a very important role in one's life style and its irregularity causes various psychosomatic disturbances. Recently, abnormal eating behaviors are increasing in number especially in adolescent patients. In order to investigate the psychosocial background of such behaviors, a retrospective research has been conducted on 357 inpatients during the past 15 years and 407 outpatients during the past three years. Their ages ranged from 12 to 25 years old.The results were summerized as follows : (1) New diagnostic criteria in relation to the motivational factors at the onset were introduced for the patients with anorexia and extreme emaciation who had no organic or psychotic disorders. Classical anorexia nervosa (AN) inclueded the one group who refused to eat by willful desire to be thin, whereas the other who developed emaciation with appetite loss caused by psychosocial stress was diagnossed as psychogenic anorexia (PA). A statistical study showed that AN had more serious somatic conditions, psychological and family conflicts than PA. These criteria were thought to be useful in selecting therapeutic procedures. Strict behavioral therapy involving other members of the family was effective for AN, whereas psychotherapy focusing on the psychosocial stress was successful for PA.(2) The adolesent psychosomatic patients with eating disorders had more disturbed family background such as parental conflicts, divorce, mother's dominancy, father's unemployment etc.in compatison with other psychosomatic diseases and neuroses.Irregular taking of breakfast was a most frequent abnormality found in their eating style.The main problem existed in the decrease of their mother's eagerness to prepare hand-made foods for the family.The background factors of eating disorders in adolescence have various aspects. However, the role of parents played in the life style of the family was thought to be the most essential cause.
