Sim, Leslie A., "Emotion regulation in adolescent females with bulimia nervosa: an information processing perspective" (2002). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 58. An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Psychology) August, 2002 Although the increased attention to affect regulation in bulimia nervosa is encouraging, most theoretical models describing the relationship between binge-eating and emotion

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... on neglect to place their observations in the context of the growing knowledge base on normal emotional development. Because the nature of abnormal functioning is best understood in relation to normal development, integrating these fields of research would identi@ deficient skills in bulimia nervosa, suggesting new avenues for treatment. The present study compared 16 adolescent girls with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bulimia nervosa to 16 age-and SES-matched girls without a psychiatric disorder, on three aspects of the information processing model (Garber, Braafladt, & Zeman, 1991) of emotional regulation, a model chosen for its description of the numerous skills that comprise normative emotion regulation. Because they share conceptual characteristics, girls with bulimia were also compared to 16 age-and SES-matched girls with a DSM-IV diagnosis of unipolar depression. Diagnosed girls were recruited from treatment programs at a large Midwestern medical center and nondiagnosed participants were recruited through advertisements in a local newspaper. The study took place over a six month period. Emotion regulation skills were assessed through questionnaire and interview measures, as well as response latencies to various questions.