Background: The study examined the social withdrawal syndrome (SWS) hypothesis of bulimia nervosa (BN). According to the hypothesis, eating disorders such as BN are associated with a coherent set of social withdrawal cognitions, affect, and behavior.
Participants and procedure: Eight-eight young female adults completed a standardized measure of bulimic symptoms and measures of social withdrawal (affective withdrawal, trust beliefs in close others, and disclosure). Participants were engaged in a laboratory-based peer interaction which yielded the SWS measure of perceived lack of social connectiveness.
Results: Bulimic symptoms were associated with each measure of social withdrawal. Structural equation modeling analysis confirmed that those measures contributed to a coherent latent factor which was associated with bulimic symptoms.
Conclusions: The findings supported the social withdrawal syndrome hypothesis of BN and have implications for the detection and treatment of eating disorders.
Keywords: affective withdrawal; bulimic symptoms; disclosure; social connectiveness; trust beliefs.
Copyright © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk.