Abstract

CASTRO-ZAMUDIO, Serafina  and  CASTRO-BAREA, Josefina. Impulsiveness and sensation seeking: factors associated with symptoms of anorexia and bulimia nervosa in high school students. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2016, vol.9, n.2, pp.22-30. ISSN 1989-3809.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5231/psy.writ.2016.2706.

This study investigated the potential association of impulsiveness and sensation seeking and the attitudes and behaviour characteristic of anorexia and bulimia nervosa in male and female students (between 12 and 20 years). The study had an observational case-control design, in which the case group comprised symptomatic subjects who had scores above the cutoff point designated by the authors for several assessment instruments, and the control group, which comprised asymptomatic participants who had scores below the cutoff point. The study included 300 participants (136 men [45.33%] and 164 women [(54.66%]) from Malaga (Spain). All participants received parental authorization to take part in the study. The participants anonymously completed the following self-administered tests: Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-II), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Bulimia Test Revised (BULIT-R), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and (SSS-V). The results suggest an association between impulsiveness and symptomatology associated with eating disorders, anorexia, and bulimia nervosa. In contrast, sensation seeking was only associated with bulimic symptoms. In summary, the variables impulsivity and sensation seeking appear to be closely associated with eating disorders. Thus, these aspects should be addressed in healthy lifestyle programs, because their inclusion may help to reduce or prevent the increase in eating disorders in the teenage population.

Keywords : Impulsiveness; sensation seeking; anorexia nervosa; bulimia nervosa; students.

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