Perceptual and cognitive abnormalities in bulimia.

The authors compared 55 bulimic subjects and 55 normal control subjects using the Beck Depression Inventory, a new scale designed to detect cognitive distortions (the Bulimia Cognitive Distortion Scale), and several perceptual and attitudinal measures of body image. There were significant differences between the bulimic and control groups on all measures except estimates of face width. These findings are discussed in terms of a multifactorial theory of the psychopathogenesis of bulimia.