Today we finished off the sociocultural explanations (ppt here) with a look at Keels & Klump (2003); a big study into whether or not AN is culture-bound (and therefore essentially nurture and not nature). It is a fascinating study and the link to the original article is here - we just read the abstract. K&K found that AN isn't culturally bound and that there are many historical examples. Interestingly, Bulimia does seem to be culturally bound.
We then looked at a few psychodynamic explanations of AN. These are high in face validity but difficult to prove experimentally. The therapy that results from them has been very successful, however, so they are definitely of value. The ppt is here.
The real reason for why someone ends up suffering from AN is likely to be a complex mix of genetic predisposition (possibly affecting neurotransmitter levels), possibly some cultural influences although these are by no means necessary, and possibly some disordered family background.
Happy Christmas!
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