Sexual Abuse
The relationship between
sexual abuse and eating disordered symptoms in women from nonpsychiatric or college student populations indicate that the
impact of sexual abuse on eating disordered behavior is a variable (Calam & Slade, 1989; Bulik, Sullivan, & Rorty,
1989; Smolak, Levine, & Sullinhs, 1990; Beckman & Burns, 1990). Despite the lack of definite links between sexual
abuse and specific eating disordered symptoms, Root & Fallon (1989) and Root (1991) suggest that binge eating, starvation,
or chronic purgative use may develop as a maladaptive attempt to cope with or escape from the negative effects of prior
abuse.
Sexual abuse is associated with the development of a variety of psychiatric symptoms in women. Although
eating disorder patients may be adversely affected by sexually abusive experiences, it must not be universally assumed that
eating disorder symptoms are responses stemming from these experiences (Folsom, Krahn, Nairn, Gold, Demitrack, & Silk,
1993).
Shame-proneness may mediate the relationship between early abuse and depression because it leads to an
increased sensitivity to depressogenic life-events involving hostile reactions and rejection in intimate relationships (Andrews
1995). Abused women may, in addition, be more susceptible to prevailing social attitudes about the way women should look.
It has been proposed that such attitudes encourage feelings of shame in many, as they cannot ever meet society's ideal.
In turn, shame influences eating habits as women strive to meet this ideal. Young women who have been abused would appear
to be particularly susceptible to such feelings. As a result of their experiences they may have an especially high need
for social approval and a need to avoid others' real or imagined scorn (Andrews, 1997; Schwartz & Cohn 1996; Root, 1991).
Deborah J. Kuehnel, LCSW, © 1998
