Report on a panel longitudinal study of college women's eating patterns and eating disorders: Noncontinuum versus continuum measures

A large group of women whose eating patterns were chronic but not severe enough to classify them as "abnormal" eaters are uncovered, and the implications of using different measures for defining and treating college women's eating disorders are discussed.

Abstract

The self-reported frequencies (prevalence and incidence) of eating patterns and disorders in a matched longitudinal sample of college women (N = 141) interviewed during their sophomore year (Time 1) and senior year (Time 2) were compared. The rate of eating disorders was assessed using a noncontinuum measure, the Eating Attitudes Test (Garner, Olmsted, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982), as well as continuum measures based on criteria in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The noncontinuum measure revealed a prevalence rate of eating disorders per 2-year period comparable to that found in other studies of college student populations. The incidence rate per 2-year period was not of epidemic proportions. A sizable percentage of women appeared to get better from Time 1 to Time 2; a small percentage of women remained abnormal eaters. The continuum measurement uncovered a large group of women whose eating patterns were chronic but not severe enough to classify them as "abnormal" eaters. The implications of using different measures for defining and treating college women's eating disorders are discussed.