Eating Dysfunctions in College Women: The Roles of Depression and Attachment to Fathers

Abstract

The authors examined the roles of depression and attachment to fathers in college women's eating dysfunctions. Three-hundred six undergraduate women completed (1) a diagnostic measure of eating dysfunctions that categorized them as asymptomatic, symptomatic but not eating disordered, or eating disordered; (2) 3 dimensional measures of attachment to fathers; and (3) a dimensional measure of depression. Depression was directly related to severity of participants' eating dysfunction; the eating-disordered group had scores consistent with clinical depression. After controlling for depression, 3 facets of attachment to fathers significantly differentiated the 3 groups.

Key Words:

• attachment security
• college women
• depression
• eating dysfunctions

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barry M. Katz

Joeanne Gutzwiller is a postdoctoral fellow in the division of psychology at Cincinnati (Ohio) Children's Hospital Medical Center; J. M. Oliver is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, where Barry M. Katz is a professor in the Department of Research Methodology.