Elizabeth Blodgett Salafia published an article titled "A Longitudinal Examination of the Roles of Maternal Psychological Control and Adolescent Self-competence as Predictors of Bulimic Symptoms Among Boys and Girls" in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
"Given the increasing prevalence of bulimia nervosa among male and female adolescents, it is extremely important to understand the mechanisms that underlie this disease," Blodgett Salafia said. "One risk factor associated with adolescents’ development of bulimia nervosa is a poor parenting style, which may include the use of psychological control (guilt-induction, anxiety-induction and the withdrawal of love). Such parental behaviors can interfere with adolescents’ ability to self-regulate their emotions and behaviors, thereby increasing vulnerability to bulimia nervosa."
The researchers tested a specific, longitudinal model in which maternal psychological control led to adolescents’ lowered self-competence, which in turn led to bulimic symptoms among both boys and girls.
Fifty-eight boys and 73 girls in middle school participated in this study. Results indicated that high maternal psychological control in sixth grade led to lowered adolescents’ self-competence in seventh grade, which, in turn, predicted increased bulimic symptoms in eighth grade. This pattern was evident for both boys and girls.
According to Blodgett Salafia, previous research has often focused exclusively on predictors of girls’ bulimic symptoms, failing to acknowledge that boys do indeed suffer from bulimia nervosa and that the predictors of this disease may be similar in boys and girls. "This study was an important step in uncovering a process wherein using a psychologically controlling parenting style can affect male and female adolescents’ development of bulimic symptoms by first affecting their self-competence," she said.