Abstract
In an attempt to identitfy diagnostically meaningful subgroups in a group of sixty women 18–34 years of age, 19 of them having a DSM-IV diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and 41 of bulimia nervosa, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on their data obtained from the Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Variables also taken into account in the cluster analysis were those of the main diagnosis, depression, personality disorder, binge eating, purging, Body Mass Index (BMI), and exercise. Five distinct clusters were found. Six of the eight EDI variables and fourteen of the twenty DMTm variables were represented in the description of the clusters. One anorexic and one bulimic cluster included DMTm signs previously found in patients with fibromyalgia. Two bulimic clusters included DMTm signs previously observed in patients with either distal or total ulcerative colitis. Hysteria was linked with the remaining anorexic cluster. On both EDI and DMTm the two main groups of anorexic and bulimic patients displayed few differences. It was mainly the various constellations of DMTm variables, interpreted in terms of the Andersson developmental and psychodynamic model of the mind, that were crucial for understanding the five clusters obtained.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. (DSM-IV). Washington, DC, APA, 1994.
Beumont P.J.V., Garner D.M., Touyz S.W.: Diagnoses of eating or dieting disorders: What may we learn from past mistakes? Int. J. Eat. Disord., 16, 349–362, 1994.
Waller G.: Why do we diagnose different types of eating disorder? Arguments for a change in research and clinical practice. Eat. Disord. Rev., 1, 74–89, 1993.
Andersson A.L., Bengtsson M.: Percept-genetic defenses against anxiety and a threatened sense of self as seen in terms of the Spiral Aftereffect Technique. Scand. J. Psychol., 26, 123–139, 1985.
Andersson A.L.: Defense Mechanism Technique modified. Lund, Sweden, Institutionen för tillämpad psykologi, 1995.
Garner D.M., Olmsted M.P.: The Eating Disorder Inventory Manual. Odessa, Florida, Psychological Assessment Resources, 1984.
Garner D.M.: Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2). Odessa, Florida, Psychological Assessment Resources, 1991.
Hallborg A., Andersson A.L., Nordgren L., von Schéele C.: En perceptgenetisk och klinisk studie av patienter med hypokondriska besvär (A percept-genetic and clinical study of patients with hypochondriacal complaints). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 5, 2, 1987.
Jacobsson C.: Fibromyalgi, smärta och försvar. En perceptgenetisk studie med SAT och DMTm (Fibromyalgia, pain and defense. A percept-genetic study with SAT and DMTm). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 7, 3, 1989.
Christensson P.B.: En perceptgenetisk studie med SAT och DMTm av självmordsförsökspatienter (A perceptgenetic study of suicide-attempters in terms of SAT and DMTm). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 8, 2, 1990.
Lööf W., Svensson M.: Skillnader i DMTm mellan patienter med diagnoserna hebefreni, parafreni och icke regressiv schizofreni (Differences in DMTm between patients having the diagnoses of hebephrenia, paraphrenia and non-regressive schizophrenia). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 11, 1, 1993.
Hallborg A.: Symtomdimensioner vid depression i relation till tecken i DMTm (Relations between symptom dimensions in depression and DMTm signs). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 15, 4, 1997.
Hallborg A., Andersson A.L.: Spiral Aftereffect Technique (SAT) och Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm) efter tillfrisknande från depression i relation till symtomdimensioner och personlighetsrekonstruktion under det akuta skedet (Spiral Aftereffect Technique /SAT/ and Defense Mechanism Technique modified /DMTm/ after recovery from depression as related to symptom dimensions and personality reconstruction during the acute illness). Psykologiska rapporter från Lund, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 3, 2, 2002.
Trygg T., Lundberg G., Rosenlund E., Timpka T., Gerdle B.: Personality characteristics of women with fibromyalgia and of women with low back complaints in terms of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Defense Mechanism Technique modified. J. Musculoskeletal Pain, 10, 33–55, 2002.
Aleman K.: Differences in terms of the Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm) between psychotic and non-psychotic drug abusers. J. Projective Psychol. Mental Health, 11, 25–35, 2004.
Andersson A.L., Montgomery E.: Drug of choice as related to percept-genetic reconstruction in terms of the Spiral Aftereffect Technique (SAT) and the Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm). Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 27 (to be published), 2004.
Kragh U., Smith G.J.W.: Percept-genetic analysis. Lund, Sweden, Gleerups, 1970.
Rubino I.A.: La ricerca percettogenetica. Roma, Borla, 1987.
Andersson A.L.: Perceptgenes och personlighet (Percept-genesis and personality). Lund, Sweden, Lund University Press, 1991.
Andersson A.L., Ryhammar L.: Psychoanalytic models of the mind, creative functioning, and percept-genetic reconstruction. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 21, 359–382, 1998.
Johnsson P.: Anorexics and bulimics compared vis-à-vis defense, proximity, and separation. In: Hentschel U., Smith G.J.W., Ehlers W., Draguns J. (Eds.), The concept of defense mechanisms in contemporary psychology. New York, Springer, 1993, pp. 389–401.
Smith G.J.W., Johnson G., Almgren P.-E.: MCT — the Meta-Contrast Technique. Stockholm, Psykologiförlaget, 1989.
Garner D.M., Norring C.: Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (Swedish version). Stockholm, Psykologiförlaget, 1994.
Kragh U.: The Defense Mechanism Test: A new method for diagnosis and personnel selection. J. Appl. Psychol., 44, 303–309, 1960.
Janson H., Olsson U.: A measure of agreement for interval or nominal multivariate observations. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 61, 277–289, 2001.
Landis J.R., Koch G.G.: The measurement of observer agreement for categorial data. Biometrics, 33, 159–174, 1977.
Ghaffari F.: Iranska kvinnors tecken i DMTm och deras uppfattning om sin barndom och sitt förhållande till föräldrarna (Iranian women’s signs in DMTm and their apprehension of their childhood and their parental relationships). Psykologexamensuppsats (Master of science thesis in psychology), Institutionen för tillämpad psykologi, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 10, 3, 1996.
Andersson A.L.: Spiral Aftereffect Technique (SAT) och Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm). Lund, Sweden, Institutionen för psykologi, 2004.
SPSS 11.5 for Windows NT.: Chicago, SPSS Inc., 2003.
Everitt B.S., Landau S., Leese M.: Cluster analysis. New York, Oxford University Press, 2001.
Strand A.H., Andersson A.L.: En sammenligning av rekonstruksjoner i DMTm mellom hjelsøkende og ikke hjelpsøkende kvinnor (A comparison of help-seeking and non-help-seeking women in terms of reconstructions shown in DMTm). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 12, 1, 1994.
Petersson B.Å., Andersson A.L., Nilsson å.: Anpassnings- och personlighetsstörning hos unga vuxna i relation till kliniska bedömningar och personlighet enligt SAT och DMTm (Adjustment and personality disorder among young adults as related to clinical characteristics and personality according to SAT and DMTm). Psykologi i tillämpning, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 15, 3, 1997.
Fenichel O.: The psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1946.
Andrée S., Marke K.: Ulcerös kolit och affekthantering. En perceptgenetisk studie med SAT och DMTm i kombination med intervju (Ulcerative colitis and affect regulation. A percept-genetic study using SAT and DMTm combined with interview). Psykologexamensuppsats (Master of science thesis in psychology), Institutionen för tillämpad psykologi, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 8, 19, 1994.
Persson Kjellén A.: En perceptgenetisk studie med SAT och DMTm av kvinnor med överviktsproblematik (A percept-genetic study of overweight women using SAT and DMTm). Psykologexamensuppsats (Master of science thesis in psychology), Institutionen för tillämpad psykologi, Lunds universitet (Sweden), 6, 3, 1992.
Freedman N., Lavender J.: On desymbolization: The concept and observations on anorexia and bulimia. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 25, 165–199, 2002.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wilhelmsson, M., Andersson, A.L. An attempt at distinguishing subgroups of women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa by means of the Defense Mechanism Technique modified (DMTm) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Eat Weight Disord 10, 175–186 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327545
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327545