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Research
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PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF EATING DISORDERS IN TEENS
Section I: Topic
Eating disorders are a widespread problem among female teenagers in the United
States, and these types of disorders are only increasing. Having the perfect
body, which many of us know is nearly impossible, has become an obsession for
many females teenagers in our society. To achieve the perfect body, girls often
become obsessed with their own bodies and their weight. This obsession can often
lead to an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia.
Most people know what these common eating disorders are, and what people who
have these do to actually have a disorder, such as starving themselves or purging
what they have eaten. There is a great deal of information easily available
about what ah eating disorder is, what types there area, and what can cause
an eating disorder. But through my research, I will focus more on the treatments
available to teenagers with eating disorders and what can be done to prevent
an eating disorder before it becomes a serious problem.
There are two audiences that I believe this information would be targeted to,
which are female teenagers and their parents. First of all, I think it is important
for females to understand how to prevent eating disorders before they affect
their lives. Or if they already suffer from an eating disorder it is important
for them to realize they are not alone and there is treatment available for
them. This information is also important for parents so they can look for warning
signs of eating disorders to help their children.
Keywords:
UNC LIBRARY CATALOG:
-eating disorders AND teenagers
-anorexia AND treatmentgb
-eating disorders AND prevention
ACADEMIC UNIVERSE LEXIS-NEXIS;
-eating disorders AND treatment
-bulimia OR anorexia AND teen!
SEARCH ENGINE ON WEB (http://www.google.com/)
-anorexia AND adolescents
-eating disorders AND prevention
SECTION II
Print sources:
Berg, Francie M. "Afraid to eat: children and teens in weight crisis,"
Hettinger, N.D.: Healthy
Weight Journal, 1997.
Call number: RJ506.E18 B47 1997
Body images, eating disorders, and obesity in youth: assessment, prevention,
and treatment.
Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2001.
Call number: WS130 B668 2001
Non-paper sources:
Eating disorders: the inner voice. Videocassette. South Charleston, W.V: Cambridge
Educational, 2000.
Call number: WM 175 VC10 2000
SECTION III: Electronic Indexes and Databases Sources
Breitenbucher, Annie. [2001, July 15]. An ounce of prevention: Dealing with
it. Star Tribune.
[online]. Available: Academic Universe, LEXIS-NEXIS. [2002, May 27].
Carter, Jacqueline C., and Stewart, D. Anne. [1997, September]. Primary prevention
of eating
disorders: Might it do more harm than good? International Journal of Eating
Disorders. [online]. Available: EBSOC Host [2002, May 27].
Felts, Michael. [1992, October]. Adolescents' perceptions of relative weight
and self-reported
weight loss activities. Journal of School Health. [online]. 26 paragraphs. Available:
Info trac [2002, May 27].
Guido, Michelle. [1995, July 14]. Special care needed for teens with anorexia
or bulimia,
experts say. Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Services. [online]. 25 paragraphs Available:
InfoTrac [2002, May 27].
Massey-Stokes, Marilyn S. [2000, July]. Prevention of Disordered Eating Among
Adolescents.
The Clearing House. [online]. 39 paragraphs. Available: InfoTrac [2002, May
27].
White, Jane H. [2000, April-June]. The prevention of eating disorders: A review
of the research
on risk factors with implications for practice. Journal of Child Care &
Adolescent
Psychiatric Nursing. [online]. 15 paragraphs. Available: EBSCO Host [2002, May
27].
SECTION IV: Web sources
Title: Teenagers with Eating Disorders
Web address: http://www.aacp.org/publications/factsfam/eating.htm
Brief Description: This web site gives a brief description about some of the
common causes of eating disorders in teenagers and it gives numbers as to how
common eating disorders are. It also provides a list of signs site parents should
look for in their children to notice an eating disorder or the onset of an eating
disorder. The site emphasizes early detection in adolescents to prevent eating
disorders before they become a problem.
Source: American Academy of Child &Adolescent Psychiatry.
Title: It's Not Your Fault. You're Not Alone. We Can Help
Web address: http://www.raderprograms.com/
Brief Description: This website offers detailed information on a variety of
eating disorders, effects of eating disorders and treatments. This website stresses
the importance of other people helping with other's eating disorders. The Rader
Program's website offers chat rooms monitored by counselors for those suffering
from eating disorders. This is a great website for someone that has an eating
disorder and does not know how to begin treatment, or someone in treatment for
an eating disorder and needs support.
Source: Rader Programs
Title: National Eating Disorders Association
Web Address: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
Brief Description: This website offers general information on eating disorders
and their symptoms. The National Eating Disorders Association also explains
available treatments to those who suffer from an eating disorder, and it will
refer users to treatment centers, doctors, etc. In addition this site offers
ways people can help family members or friends who have eating disorders. This
organization strongly believes in people helping others.
Source: National Eating Disorders Association
Title: Eating disorders. Counseling Issues.
Web Address: http://hhd.csun.edu/shelia/433/secure/433wk10.html
Brief Description: This page is similar to a fact sheet for eating disorders.
It includes basic facts about eating disorders, what eating disorders are, explains
the most common eating disorders, warning signs, dangers of eating disorders,
and how to treat and help people with these disorders. Source: Dr. Sheila Harbet
Title: Eating Disorders: Mirror, Mirror
Web Address: http://www.mirror-mirror.org/eatdis.htm
Brief Description: This web site gives a description of the typical eating disorders
and ways to treat them along with stories about survivors of eating disorders
and what they went through. This web site also presents common myths and realities
about eating disorders. In addition it gives links to other related web sites.
Source: EDSA (Eating Disorders Shared Awareness)
Section V: Mini-essay
Title: SEARCHING FOR VICTIMS ON THE NET
(TOPIC AREA: Dark side of the net)
Since the internet has become a common household appliance, child predators
on the internet have become a common household threat. It is becoming more and
more common for child molesters to use the computer as a way to find their victims,
often convincing the child that they are a friend and can be trusted.
Since this has become such a large problem many states, such as Florida, have
passed broad laws to help catch these child predators. The laws state that as
long as the adult believes they are talking to a child and getting the child
to meet them in person, then they can be arrested and convicted of luring a
child. Even if the "child" is an adult, such as an FBI agent, they
can be charged and convicted (1). Yet, many states do not have these laws. So
if an FBI agent is working undercover as a child on the internet, the person
that lures the agent, thinking they are luring a child, cannot be convicted
because they did not have any contact with a child.
So there is a problem in catching these online predators. Many of the people
they have caught using the internet to lure children are not necessarily the
problem. The pedophiles that are the real danger are those that know how to
maneuver around the internet without leaving a trail, and have learned how to
lure children with sophisticated methods. The real predators have learned what
not to do, such as trade child pornography online, as they may be talking to
a cop online instead of a child. These dangerous pedophiles have learned that
this is a sure indication that they may be a predator seeking their prey (2).
Since internet pedophiles can be hard to catch, and even harder to prosecute,
many experts, including the FBI, support parent supervision over their children's
internet usage. Parents must teach their children signs to look for and stress
the importance of not talking to strangers on the net.
NOTES:
(1) Lucas, Kelly. [2002, January 30]. GA tackles child abuse laws. The Indiana
Lawyer.
[online]. 950 words. Available: Academic Universe, LEXIS-NEXIS. [2002. May 27].
(2) Koch, Lewis Z. [2000, December 25]. Cloaking Devices. Interactive Week.
[online]. 989
words. Available: Academic Universe, LEXIS-NEXIS. [2002, May 27].
THREE WEBSITES:
Title: Internet Safety Awareness
Web address: http://www.theguardianangel.com/internet_safety_child_predator.htm
Brief Description: This web site gives tips on how parents can monitor and teach
their children to look out for web predators so they do not become victims.
Source: The Guardian Angel
Title: FBI to parents: Internet pedophiles a serious threat.
Web address: http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9803/11/cyber.stalking/
Brief Description: This web site contains a news article from CNN which discusses
the dangers of child predators on the internet and what the FBI is doing to
catch them. It also gives links to other web sites that would help people find
information on the topic.
Source: CNN
Title: Kids in Cyber Space
Web address: http://www.onlineharassment.com/
Brief Description: This web site promotes the idea that parental supervision
is the best prevention against child predators. It gives tips on how to avoid
predators and gives information on filtering software to help protect children.
Source: Online Harassment