Relationship between bulimic symptoms and the discrepency [sic] between actual and ideal sex role identity

The literature suggests many different points of views concerning eating disorders and sex role identity, ranging from Boskind-White's (1983) "hyperfeminine" theory, to Lewis Johnson's (1985) "undifferentiated" hypothesis, to Rost's (1982) hypothesized gap between ideal vs. actual sex role identity. The present study compared the difference between actual and ideal sex-role identity and how this difference may relate to bulimic behavior. Ninety-seven women from psychology classes were recruited to participate, 45 from Introduction to Psychology, 37 from Psychology of Women, and 15 from Eating Disroders. It was hypothesized that women with a higher risk of bulimia would show a greater discrepancy between actual and ideal sex role identity than women with low risk of bulimia. Risk of bulimia was measured by the Bulimia Test (BULIT)( Smith Thelen, 1984). Sex role behavior and ideals were measured by the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) (Spence Helmreich, 1978). This hypothesis was not supported. No correlation was found between the discrepency between their ideal and actual sex-role attributes and their BULIT score. However, a significant inverse correlation between Introduction to Psychology Classes' PAQ Masculinity score and the BULIT score was found. It was concluded that there are no certain sex-role traits correlated with bulimia.