The presence of bulimia in high school females.

The purpose of this study is to show that the appetite disorder bulimia is present in high school females. Previous research has shown the presence of bulimia in college women. The study was conducted using the entire female population of a large suburban, midwestern community high school. The Eating Disorder Inventory was used to identify the presence of bulimia. Data collected were classified for analysis using the bulimia scale as identified by the EDI. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA) these data were compared on each of the seven scales using bulimia diagnosis and age. The correlation was significant (.01) on five of the seven scales. It was concluded that there is a bulimic population at the high school level which includes females, ages 14-18. The percentages of bulimic females in categories of black, white and others were equal. This is significant because bulimia has not previously been recognized as present in the black population. Knowledge of the attitudes of bulimic students will help those professionals who work with adolescents to recognize bulimic behavior. Community referral agencies and individuals who can help the affected and provide support for the family should be identified and utilized.