Prevalence of bulimia among patients in a chemical dependency treatment program

The present study sought to determine the prevalence of bulimia in a chemically dependent population and to examine the patterns of psychopathology and eating attitudes among chemically dependent patients. Seventy-six male and 62 female consecutive admissions to an inpatient treatment facility for chemical dependency were administered the BULIT, Restraint Scale, MMPI and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. There was no evidence for an increased prevalence of bulimia in this sample. Five of the women (8%) achieved a cutoff score on the BULIT indicative of bulimia. The similarity between mean MMPI profiles of female patients in this sample and those previously obtained for bulimic patients was greater than the similarity between MMPI profiles for the male and female chemically dependent patients in this sample. Findings are discussed within the context of previous research.