ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the methodological and practical issues in determining the generalizability of any link between sexual abuse and eating psycho-pathology. It also considers the nature of that link and its implications for treatment. A number of large-scale studies have described rates of reported sexual abuse among women with eating disorders. The pattern of prevalences of reported sexual abuse in studies of eating-disordered populations is likely to be at least partly a product of the definitions used and the issues around inquiry. The coincidence hypothesis is unlikely to be immediately acceptable to the majority of clinicians working with eating-disordered women who report sexual abuse. Studies have considered whether there are different rates of reported abuse between anorexics and bulimics. The mediators of the relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders are certain to be complex. Self-blame for the abuse is an important psychological response, probably because it is more specific than poor general self-esteem.
