ABSTRACT
Eating disorders have become increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents in contemporary society (Graber, Brooks-Gunn, Paikoff, & Warren, 1994). In fact, eating disorders are becoming a very concerning health epidemic in female adolescents in most Western countries (Grave, 2003; Lewinson, Hops, & Roberts, 1993). These disorders cause many health and psychological hazards to the lives of their victims. If serious enough, they can even cause death (Grave, 2003; Kohn & Golden, 2001). Additionally, a large number of people with eating disorders do not meet the strict criteria set forth in the American Psychiatric Association’s (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) for anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) and are labeled as having “partial syndromes” or “eating disorder not otherwise specified” (ED NOS).
