Attachment and Eating Disorder Risk in Women

The thesis deals with connections between attachment and eating disorders (EDs) in females. It is divided into two sections - literature review and research. In the literature review, we define key subjects of the thesis, i.e. eating disorders and the concept of attachment. The research section is based on quantitative research. The research aims to explore 1) the relationship between ED risk and the dimension of attachment avoidance - anxiety within the concept of attachment, 2) the relationship between ED risk and early memories of warmth and safeness, and 3) if the dimension of attachment avoidance - anxiety within the concept of attachment and early memories of warmth and safeness increase the probability of EDs. The research was conducted via online questionnaire survey. The research sample consisted of 570 females in young adulthood (aged 20-30). The measures used in the research include Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the ECR scale, and the EMWSS scale. The findings for our research sample suggest a statistically significant positive relationship between the dimension of attachment avoidance in the ECR scale and "Bulimia and Food Preoccupation" and "Oral Control" subscales in EAT-26. There has also been found a statistically significant positive relationship between the dimension of..