Key Study

Field et al (1999)

Peer and media influences in bulima

Aims

The aim of the study was to investigate the importance of both media and peer influences on the development of bulimia nervosa.

Procedures

The researchers obtained a large sample (almost 7000) of girls aged 9-14 years. They were given questionnaires about various aspects of their self-image and self esteem. These included questions about the importance to them of peer judgements (e.g. were they often teased about their weight), and the influence of the media in how they felt about their bodies.

Findings

From the study the researchers were able to identify about 1% (74) of the total sample when they had begun ‘purging’. These girls all showed a greater sensitivity to peers and media influences. They reported that their friends placed a high importance on being thin. They also reported trying to look like females on TV or in magazines.

Conclusions

The researchers concluded that peers and popular media exert a strong influence on the weight control behaviour and beliefs of bulimic sufferers. They also suggest that it is possible to identify ‘at risk’ adolescents in order to try to prevent the disorder.

Evaluation

The study has a very important advantage in that it is a prospective rather than retrospective study. The latter are unreliable because they rely on memory. The girls were studied before they had developed the disorder. However, although the study has a very large sample size, only a small sample of girls were identified as developing BN. This limits the generalisability of the findings.

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