Abstract
This article examines the connections between body weight and psychopathological symptoms in a religious community. The Symptom Checklist 90-Revised was administered to 34 nuns, whose body mass index (BMI) values significantly correlated with hostility (r=0.46, p<0.01). These findings support the idea that people living in open religious communities share social values regarding weight and body size, and reveal high levels of psychological discomfort when body weight increases.
References
Bell R.M.: Holy anorexia. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1985.
Lacey J.H.: Anorexia nervosa and a bearded female saint. Br. Med. J., 285,1816–1817, 1982.
Derogatis L.D.: The SCL-90-R. Baltimore, MD, Clinical Psychometric Research, 1975.
Huline-Dickens S.: Anorexia nervosa: some connections with the religious attitude. Br. J. Med. Psychol., 73, 67–76, 2000.
Rampling D.: Ascetic ideals and anorexia nervosa. J. Psychiatr. Res., 19, 89–94, 1985.
Banks C.G.: Culture in culture-bound syndromes: the case of anorexia nervosa. Soc. Sci. Med., 34, 867–884, 1992.
Banks C.G.: The imaginative use of religious symbols in subjective experiences of anorexia nervosa. Psychoanal. Rev., 84, 227–236, 1997.
Cash T.F., Winstead B.A., Janda L.H.: The great American shape-up: body image survey report. Psychol. Today, 20, 30–37, 1986.
Raphael F.J., Lacey J.H.: Sociocultural aspects of eating disorders. Ann. Med., 24, 293–296, 1992.
Sobal J.: Social influences on body weight. In: Brownell K.D., Fairburn C.G. (Eds.), Eating disorders and obesity. A comprehensive handbook, New York, The Guilford Press, 1995.
Bruch H.: Eating disorders. London, Routledge & Keegan, 1974.
Mills J.K.: A note on interpersonal sensitivity and psychotic symptomatology in obese adult outpatients with a history of chilhood obesity. J. Psychol., 129, 345–348, 1995.
Johnson C., Wonderlich S.: Personality characteristics as a risk factor in the development of eating disorders. In: Crowther J.H., Tennenbaum D.L., Hobfoll S.E., Stephens M.A.P. (eds.), The etiology of bulimia nervosa: the individual and familiar context. New York, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 1992.
Sohlberg S., Strober M.: Personality in anorexia nervosa: an update and a theoretical integration. Acta Psychiatr. Scand., 378 (suppl): 1–15, 1994.
Guisado J.A., Vaz F.J., Guisado J., Torres M.I., Peral D., Fernández-Gil M.A.: Conducta alimentaria en comunidades religiosas. Revista de Psiquiatría de la Facultad de Medicina de Barcelona 27, 388–390, 2000.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guisado Macías, J.A., Vaz, F.J., Guisado, J. et al. Body mass index and some psychopathological symptoms in open community nuns. Eat Weight Disord 8, 178–180 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325010
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325010