Comorbidity Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse Essay

Comorbidity Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse - Essay Example Using a behavior specific approach in a community-based sample, Piran and Robinson (2005) found that as disordered eating behaviors became more severe, or were clustered together, the number of substance classes used increased. In addition, particular eating disordered behaviors were differentially related to the use of various substance classes. The study of the comorbidity between disordered eating and substance use in middle and high schools samples tended to focus on the association between attitudes toward eating, weight, and shape and tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and marijuana use (Field et al., 2002). Nonetheless, several school-based studies have also reported on associations between tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and marijuana use in relation to bingeing, purging and dieting behaviors (Lock et al., 2001 and Tomori et al., 2001). However, only a few investigations have included a broader range of substance classes while investigating associations between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and substance use in school-based studies (Von Ranson et al., 2002). Tomori et al. ... (2002) found an association between the revised EDI subscales of Binge Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, and Compensating Behaviors, and the use of a wide range of illicit drugs. There are a small number of studies that have examined the relationship between problematic eating patterns and substance use in university samples (Anderson et al., 2005, Dunn et al., 2002, Krahn et al., 2005, Saules et al., 2004,). Several of these studies have focused on the relationship between bulimic symptomatology and substance use (Dunn et al., 2002 and Krahn et al., 2005). For example, Dunn et al. (2002) found no difference in patterns of alcohol use among college-age non-treatment seeking females with and without bulimia nervosa. The investigators did, however, find differences between the groups in their reported use of marijuana, opiates, and barbiturates. Krahn et al. (2005) found that the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption were positively associated with a measure that assessed the combined severity of engagement in bingeing, dieting, and purging behaviors. In their study, smoking cigarettes, even at very low levels, was also related to the measure of combine d disordered eating behaviors. Other university-based studies have explored the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors as measured on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and substance abuse. Krahn et al. (2005) reported a positive significant, albeit small, association between problematic alcohol use in female undergraduate students and the EDI subscales of Bulimia and Interoceptive Awareness, but no such correlation with the other EDI subscales. No significant relationships were found between EDI subscales and use of other substances,