Social influences in the development of anorexia nervosa. A case study.

This paper is an overview of theory and research findings on social influences on the development of eating disorders. Included are feminist theories of socialisation, theories of autonomy and modelling within the family context self-esteem, perfectionism, and temperament as well as the displacement hypothesis. This overview is followed by a case study. An 18-year-old female patient and her history are described from various angles of incidence to determine how far components of these findings may have contributed to her development of anorexia nervosa (AN). Vulnerability, precipitating, and perpetuating factors are discussed. It is shown that the patient demonstrated relatively high levels of risk factors known to play a part in the etiology of AN.