Eating Disorders: a sense of insecurity is an early risk factor

Insecurity plays a key role in the development of a negative body image, shows a study of women with eating disorders, which suggests that prevention and treatment can be enhanced by greater attention brought to an early separation anxiety and a sense of insecurity in the relationship to the parents.

The attachment theory, explained Dr. Alfonso Troisi and colleagues at the University of Rome in the journal "Psychosomatic Medicine", argues that early experiences build the adult personality. Babies who are under great emotional focus and develop a model of themselves loved and valued and a model of the other magnet.

Babies, on the other hand, are victims of neglect or rejection from their parents, and come to believe that they can not count on others, begin to think they do not deserve to be loved.

The development of body dissatisfaction in these individuals may be related to a decrease in self-esteem and an increased need to be accepted by others, suggest the researchers.

Using questionnaires, they examined the association between a low secure attachment from a young age and separation anxiety on the one hand, and dissatisfaction with his body on the other hand, among women aged 96 of twenty and thirty years with anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

The analysis confirms their hypothesis, reports the team found a little insecure attachment and early separation anxiety were both strongly associated with a negative body image, even after taking into account both risk factors , weight and depression.

"Our results confirm that the little insecure attachment is correlated with a negative body image", not only for girls but also for women who suffer from eating disorders