Abstract
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a well-documented but poorly understood psychological
disorder. There is controversy over the conceptual clarity and efficacy of therapies
for the condition and it continues to have one of the highest mortality rates of all
psychiatric disorders.
Recent psychological conceptualisations of AN have viewed anorexic behaviour as a
coping strategy to deal with underlying general psychopathology. The search for
predictors of AN has been a frequent topic in eating disorders research and anorexics
have often been identified as perfectionistic and valuing achievement as a means to
self-worth. The eating disturbance associated with AN has also been viewed as a
means to enhancing self-perception.
Research into coping has also achieved much attention. Antonovsky (1979; 1987)
has posited the construct of Sense of Coherence which allows individuals to cope
successfully with stress and avoid psychological ill-health. Part of this construct
posits educational and vocational achievement as indicators of a strong Sense of
Coherence.
This study hypothesised that anorexics, with their high achievement orientation,
would exhibit different patterns of scores on the Sense of Coherence questionnaire
when compared to a group of controls and a group of depressed individuals. Results
indicated that anorexics' SOC scores were significantly lower than controls' but
significantly higher than depressed individuals'. Concern was expressed regarding
the validity of the clinically orientated SOC research literature given the tendency to
use this salutogenic measure in pathogenic research designs.
