Perceptions and metaperceptions of same-sex social interactions in college women with disordered eating patterns

Abstract

This study compared perceptions and metaperceptions after a social interaction between a woman with disordered eating (subclinical bulimia nervosa) and a female interaction partner. Hypotheses were: women with disordered eating would have more negative metaperceptions of social interactions than women without disordered eating, and women with disordered eating would show a greater discrepancy between metaperceptions and perceptions than women without disordered eating. All participants completed questionnaires about their perceptions and metaperceptions post-interaction. Results showed women with disordered eating thought that they had made a negative impression; findings addressing the relationships among social desirability, loneliness, social support utilization, and fear of negative evaluation are also discussed.

Introduction

Disordered eating occurs in epidemic proportions in Western society, and it is estimated that 5–10 million women in the United States may be diagnosed with eating disorders (Hoek, 1993; Shisslak, Crago, & Estes, 1995). Interest in this subject has been growing in the last 20 years as eating disorders—anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and EDNOS (eating disorders not otherwise specified)—have received increased attention in the clinical and non-clinical arenas (Garner & Garfinkel, 1997). Morbidity associated with these disorders is considerable, and the lifetime prevalence of bulimia nervosa (BN) among women is approximately 1–3%; estimates in college women are approximately 19% (Hoek, 1993). Recent studies have elicited higher numbers when measuring eating pathology as a continuum due to the high occurrence of symptomatology that are impairing, but fail to meet the clinical cutoff (Drewnoski, Yee, Kurth, & Krahn, 1994; Mond et al., 2006, Perosa and Perosa, 2004; Tylka & Subich, 2002).

One critical area of impairment is in social relationships. Women with disordered eating seek less social support (Troop, Holbrey, Trowler, & Treasure, 1994) and tend to have poorer social skills than controls (Grissett & Norvell, 1992). They are perceived by others as less socially effective, less trustworthy leaders, and less likely to be good friends (Grissett & Norvell, 1992). Thelen, Kanakis, and Farmer (1993) also found a negative association between female college students with disordered eating and lower ratings of satisfaction in male relationships. Women with disordered eating may also have a tendency to negatively distort situations, or to engage in depressogenic thoughts. Lohr and Parkinson (1989) found that women with disordered eating tend to blame themselves, avoid coping with problems, and feel helpless. Thus, it would be advantageous to examine the cognitions of women with disordered eating to determine how they think others see them.

The current study examines the relationship among perceptions (process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing information); metaperceptions (what one thinks others think of her); social desirability (the inclination to present one's self in a manner that will be viewed favorably); and self-evaluation (the way one looks at herself). It is hypothesized that women with disordered eating will have more negative metaperceptions of social interactions and exhibit both higher social anxiety and need for approval relative to women without disordered eating.

The disordered eating groups for the present study are referred to by their Bulimia Test—Revised (BULIT-R) scoring category: low (<40), middle (43–62), and high (>65) as previously validated (Kisler & Corcoran, 1997; Rofey & Corcoran, 2002; Rofey, Corcoran, & Tran, 2004). The high BULIT-R women can be said to have “disordered eating patterns” because they cite significant eating concerns, even if they fail to score above the clinical cutoff consistent with a bulimia nervosa diagnosis (Thelen, Farmer, Wonderlich, & Smith, 1991).

• High BULIT-R scorers have more negative metaperceptions of social interactions than low scorers even when the effects of self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and social desirability are taken into account.

• High BULIT-R scorers show a greater negative discrepancy between metaperception and actual perception of the woman's partner than do low BULIT-R scorers.