Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-k8lnt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-29T22:06:28.219Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Operant Conditioning in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: A Review and Retrospective Study of 11 Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Sadrudin Bhanji  and
James Thompson
Sadrudin Bhanji
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Guy's Hospital, London, S.E.1
James Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, uy's Hospital. London, S.E.1
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder characterized by loss of appetite, amenorrhoea, and weight loss in the absence of any primary psychiatric or physical illness (Dally and Sargant, 1966). Features which have recently been stated to be of value in distinguishing it from anorexia due to other causes are: denial of illness, bradycardia and lanugo hair (Wright et al., 1969). The weight losses in this condition are usually at least 20 per cent of ideal body weight, depending on the quality and promptness of treatment.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 124 , Issue 579 , February 1974 , pp. 166 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1974 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Azerrad, J., and Stafford, R. L. (1969). ‘Restoration of eating behaviour in anorexia nervosa through operant conditioning and environmental manipulation.’ Behav. Res. Ther., 7, 165–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bachrach, A. J., Erwin, W. J., and Mohr, P. J. (1965). ‘The control of eating behaviour in an anorexic by operant conditioning techniques’, in Case Studies in Behaviour Modification (eds. Ullman, and Krasner, ). New York.Google Scholar
Bianco, F. (1971). ‘Behaviour therapy in anorexia nervosa’, in Report of Vth World Congress of Psychiatry. Mexico.Google Scholar
Bunder, B. J., Freeman, D. M. A., and Stunkard, A. J. (1970). ‘Behaviour therapy of anorexia nervosa: effectiveness of activity as a reinforcer of weight gain.’ Amer. J. Psychiat., 126, 1093–8.Google Scholar
Dally, P., and Saroant, W. (1966). ‘Treatment and outcome of anorexia nervosa.’ Brit. med. J., ii, 793–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallsten, E. A. (1965). ‘Adolescent anorexia nervosa treated by desensitization.’ Behav. Res. Ther., 3, 87–91.Google Scholar
Lang, P. J. (1965). ‘Behaviour therapy with a case of nervous anorexia’, in Case Studies in Behaviour Modification (eds. Ullman, and Krasner, ).Google Scholar
Leitenberg, H., Agras, W. S., and Thomson, L. E. (1968). ‘A sequential analysis of the effect of selective positive reinforcement in modifying anorexia nervosa.’ Behav. Res. Ther., 6, 211–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobb, L. G., and Schaefer, H. H. (1972). ‘Successful treatment of anorexia nervosa through isolation.’ Psychol. Rep., 30, 245–6.Google Scholar
Stumphauzer, J. S. (1969). ‘Application of reinforcement contingencies with a 23-year-old anorexic patient.’ Psychol. Rep., 24, 109–10.Google Scholar
Wright, W. S., Manwell, M. K. C., and Merritt, J. K. (1969). ‘Anorexia nervosa: a discriminant function analysis.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 115, 827–31.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.