A test of the social withdrawal syndrome hypothesis of bulimia nervosa

Abstract

BackgroundThe study examined the social withdrawal syndrome (SWS) hypothesis of bulimia nervosa (BN). According to the hypothe-sis, eating disorders such as BN are associated with a coherent set of social withdrawal cognitions, affect, and behavior.Participants and procedureEight-eight young female adults completed a standardized measure of bulimic symptoms and measures of social with-drawal (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.ResultsBulimic symptoms were associated with each measure of social withdrawal. Structural equation modeling analysis con-firmed that those measures contributed to a coherent latent factor which was associated with bulimic symptoms.ConclusionsThe findings supported the social withdrawal syndrome hypothesis of BN and have implications for the detection and treatment of eating disorders.