Anorexia Nervosa Essay

There are several research examining the risk factors that trigger the etiology of anorexia nervosa in adolescents. Wicks-Nelson and Israel (2016) mentions several biological factors such as, differences in neurotransmitters, genetic influences, and hormonal changes. Specifically, there was a research conducted to study the neuropsychology of AN in adolescents. The aim of the present study was to “determine the percentage of adolescents with AN who present worse cognitive functioning according to neuropsychological criteria of cognitive impairment, and to study their clinical characteristics” (Andrés-Perpiña, Lozano-Serra, Puig, Lera-Miguel, Lázro, & Castro-Fornieles, 2011). A group of 37 adolescents with a diagnosis of AN and a control group of 41 adolescents, who were similar in age and IQ
Specifically, researchers examined disordered eating behaviors in families as a risk factor to eating disorder. The aims of this study was to “examine the prevalence of discorded eating behaviors among adolescents and adults living in the same household” (Ferreira, de Souza, da Costa, Sichieri, & de Veiga, 2013). The research was held in Brazil the participants consisted of 511 adolescents and 1254 adults. The household binge-eating, strict dieting, purging, and fasting behaviors were accumulated over a 6-month period by an interview and self-report questionnaire. The researchers found that “the prevalence of binge eating and strict dieting or fasting was more than twice as high among adolescents who lived with adults reporting such behaviors” (Ferreira, de Souza, da Costa, Sichieri, & de Veiga, 2013). This research illustrates the household family influence of eating behavior. Although the study does not measure anorexia nervosa, the behaviors of binge-eating and purging are subtypes of AN. Therefore, family diet and eating behavior can be a risk factor to the development of AN in