Bulimia as a manifestation of the stress process: A LISREL causal modeling analysis

Abstract

Two studies conducted to develop and cross validate a causal model of bulimia are reported. It was hypothesized that a stress process, comprised of three components, the sources of stress, the mediators of stress, and the manifestations of stress would provide the basis of a causal model of bulimia, using linear structural relations analysis (LISREL). In Study 1, 144 female introductory psychology students were assessed for bulimia as well as 10 other variables representative of the stress process. The proposed model was comprised of two sources of stress: Environmental stressors (life events and daily hassles), and Depression (depression and risk for depression). The model indicated that coping skills are an important mediator of stress, and that having a high frequency of environmental stressors and/or the presence of depression or risk for depression, may lead an individual to resort to ineffective coping mechanisms, which, in turn, results in the expression of bulimic behavior. The model was cross-validated in Study 2, in which 150 female introductory psychology students were assessed on the same variables. Treatment implications are discussed.