Towards a more specific model of anorectic pathogenesis: Parental selfobject use of the pre-anorectic child.
type: CreativeWork
description: Decades of research on the anorectic's family relationships have contributed a certain measure of depth and precision to our current understanding of this syndrome's pathogenesis. Yet none of the existing etiological formulations is specific as regards the predisposition to anorexia nervosa in that they also apply to other psychopathological conditions. Furthermore, many of these models do not address the precipitation and maintenance phases of the disorder, preferring to remain narrowly focused on premorbid personality factors. As well, existing etiological conjectures do not adequately explain several phenomena regularly encountered among anorectics, such as their relentless quest for perfection and their unusually intense autonomy strivings. In line with this problematic, the current work outlines a modal etiological pattern that is specific to core-group restrictive anorectics and that addresses the precipitation and maintenance phases of the disorder as well as predisposition. It also offers an explanation for their assiduous quest for perfection and their inordinately strong autonomy strivings. It does so by focusing on a hitherto largely overlooked aspect of relationships in the anorectic family, namely the particular ways in which the pre-anorectic child is called upon to compensate for parental emotional deficits. It is conjectured that the predisposition to anorexia nervosa arises in the context of her simultaneous function as a self-denying, merged selfobject to her mother and as an omnipotent, idealized selfobject to either or both parents. Such selfobject use of the pre-anorectic child is argued to leave her with a heightened sensitivity to environmental rejection experiences because of her inordinate dependence on external validation combined with the habit and expectation of being seen as "special". In addition, she finds herself with a uniquely polarized false-self system, particularly strong autonomy strivings, and a highly restricted repertoire of …
abstract: Decades of research on the anorectic's family relationships have contributed a certain measure of depth and precision to our current understanding of this syndrome's pathogenesis. Yet none of the existing etiological formulations is specific as regards the predisposition to anorexia nervosa in that they also apply to other psychopathological conditions. Furthermore, many of these models do not address the precipitation and maintenance phases of the disorder, preferring to remain narrowly focused on premorbid personality factors. As well, existing etiological conjectures do not adequately explain several phenomena regularly encountered among anorectics, such as their relentless quest for perfection and their unusually intense autonomy strivings. In line with this problematic, the current work outlines a modal etiological pattern that is specific to core-group restrictive anorectics and that addresses the precipitation and maintenance phases of the disorder as well as predisposition. It also offers an explanation for their assiduous quest for perfection and their inordinately strong autonomy strivings. It does so by focusing on a hitherto largely overlooked aspect of relationships in the anorectic family, namely the particular ways in which the pre-anorectic child is called upon to compensate for parental emotional deficits. It is conjectured that the predisposition to anorexia nervosa arises in the context of her simultaneous function as a self-denying, merged selfobject to her mother and as an omnipotent, idealized selfobject to either or both parents. Such selfobject use of the pre-anorectic child is argued to leave her with a heightened sensitivity to environmental rejection experiences because of her inordinate dependence on external validation combined with the habit and expectation of being seen as "special". In addition, she finds herself with a uniquely polarized false-self system, particularly strong autonomy strivings, and a highly restricted repertoire of …
author: Frederick, Christina A.
keywords: Psychology, Developmental.
identifier: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: B, page: 2864.
date published: 2009-03-25T20:01:09Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:39:25Z
provider: University of Ottawa
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Ottawa (Canada)

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/10021

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.20381/ruor-8091