Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological characteristics, personality traits, selfesteem and sense of identity, of Japanese female college students with disturbed eating behaviors and to describe their disturbed eating behaviors. The subjects were 304 female college students in a Japanese suburb. Twenty-one female outpatients diagnosed with BN-P were recruited from psychosomatic and psychiatric clinlcs to compare with the students. They completed the EAT-26, the NEO-FFI, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the 3 subscales (Trust, Autonomy, Identity) of the EPSI, as well as cluestionnaires on purging behavior and binge eating. Students were divided into 3 groups according to thelr EAT-26 scores : nondisturbed, moderately disturbed and severely disturbed. We then compared NEO-FFI scores. Rosenberg Self-Esteem scores and EPSI scores between the three student groups and the outpatient group. Data were analyzed by using ANOVA and Bonferroni's multiple comparisons. Almost 3.5% of the students were categorized as belonging to the moderately or severely disturbed groups. Binge eating, at a frequency of 2-3 times a week or more, was reported by 8.9% of the students. Regarding purging behaviors, 15.8% of the students reported. These findings indicate that the prevalence of disturbed eating behaviors in Japanese female college students is a serious problem, indicating the immediate need for preventive intervention. Regarding personality traits, the moderately and severely disturbed groups scored significantly higher for "Neuroticism" than the nondisturbed group (p<0.05, p<0.001, respectively). The 3 student groups scored significantly higher for "Extraverslon" "Agreeableness" than the outpatiellt group (p<0.001). The moderately and severely disturbed group had scores for "SelfEsteem" that were significantly lower than those of the nondisturbed group (p< 0.001 p<0.01, respectively). The severely disturbed group scored significantly lower for "Trust", "Autonomy" than did the nondisturbed group (p<0.01, p<0.05, respectively). The moderately and severely disturbed group had scores for "Identity" that were significantly lower than those of the nondisturbed group (p<0.05, p<0.001, respectively) . Our results also suggest that students with disturbed eating behaviors are characterized by high "Neuroticism" and low "Self- Esteem" as well as a low sense of Identity in comparison with nondisturbed students, and by high "Extraverslon" and "Agreeableness" compared with the outpatient group. These psychological characteristics must be taken into consideration when planning college-based preventive intervention.
