Objective: The current study described the clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) in Japan utilizing the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and assessed whether the clinical profile of eating disorder cases in Japan differs significantly from North American data.
Method: Statistical comparisons of Japanese AN, BN, and non-eating-disordered (NonED) EDI-2 data were conducted across diagnostic groups and with the North American standardization sample.
Results: The Japanese diagnostic groups reported significant between-group differences on all eight EDI-2 subscales. Compared with the standardization sample, all the Japanese groups reported significantly greater maturity fears, the Japanese AN-restricting subtype group (AN-R) reported lower levels of drive for thinness and perfectionism, the Japanese BN group reported lower levels of drive for thinness, and the Japanese NonED Group reported lower levels of drive for thinness and perfectionism but higher rates of ineffectiveness.
Discussion: Differences between the Japanese and North American groups suggest that certain cultural differences exist in eating disorder profiles.
2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.