November 8, 2011
Classroom Management Research Article
Adolescent Eating Disorders
The article “Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Disordered Eating During Early Adolescence,” written by Gail L. McVey, Debra Pepler, Ron Davis, Gordon L. Flett, and Mohamed Abdolel as brought to the forefront a pressing issue that many teenage girls are facing in today’s turbulent times. When watching children as young as two or three discuss amongst themselves how she looks fat, or this is not healthy, it brings one to feel that there is something in our society today that is placing too strong of an emphasis on looks, and that there can be potential danger to all this talk. In addition, one would be hard pressed to find a girls’ junior high or high school that doesn’t have at least one girl who is either anorexic or bulimic. Therefore, a teacher must be aware of what can cause such disorders, so as to help prevent them. When a girl starts her early teenage years she is more vulnerable than usual due to all the changes occurring throughout her body. Consequently, she is more susceptible to any disease that may plague her, as her immune system is not as strong as it usually is. Furthermore, eating disorders are partially psychological, and the moodiness that comes with their bodies changing plays a vital role in the bringing out of such diseases. In addition, at this age their social status places a major role, as girls with lower self-esteem don’t have as much confidence in their status in the class.
In a study conducted by the authors of the article, it was found that many other factors also play a role in the onset of such illnesses. Girls who are always striving for perfection, through their own desire, not their peers’, and have a hard time seeing anything less are more likely to fall ill. This is due to their need to see themselves always looking perfect, as well as a feeling of insecurity, and lessening of self-esteem if anything doesn’t work out well for them. Additionally, how much importance these girls place on their looks is significantly correlated with whether or not they became anorexic or bulimic. When girls feel that how one looks is important, then they are more likely to take extreme steps to make sure that they look better, and will do whatever is necessary to achieve that perfect look. Similarly, how girls feel about their looks during these years also plays a big role, as if a girl doesn’t feel that she looks good then she will be more motivated to take such extreme steps in order to change her appearance.
In addition, there are other aspects
