Exploring young women's perceptions of the effectiveness and safety of maladaptive weight control techniques

Despite the emerging awareness among professionals that eating disorders occur along a continuum of degree for women and that maladaptive perceptions regarding weight control techniques may be important in the development and maintenance of women's disturbed eating behaviors, no research has examined perceptions of weight control techniques as a function of women's placement on the eating disorder continuum. Thus, perceptions of the effectiveness and safety of weight control techniques of 166 high school and college women were examined. Women who use maladaptive weight control techniques were found to rate the effectiveness and safety of these techniques higher than did women who do not use these techniques. Results also indicate that perceptions of effectiveness and safety vary in a linear fashion with respect to eating disorder continuum placement.