• DOI:10.1177/136346159002700401
• Corpus ID: 144566470

Anorexia Multiforme: Self-Starvation in Historical and Cultural Context

@article{DiNicola1990AnorexiaMS,
  title={Anorexia Multiforme: Self-Starvation in Historical and Cultural Context},
  author={V F DiNicola},
  journal={Transcultural Psychiatry},
  year={1990},
  volume={27},
  pages={245 - 286}
}

• V. DiNicola
• Published 1 December 1990
• Psychology
• Transcultural Psychiatry

cause, a trigger, or merely a kind of social address or envelope which determines in which segments of society or in which cultures anorexia nervosa will appear? I will argue that however we conceive of the connection between culture and anorexia nervosa, this cultural connection must be included in any comprehensive interpretation. The strong thesis of this connection is that culture acts as a cause by providing a blueprint for anorexia nervosa; Orbach’s (1986) feminist hypothesis of anorexia nervosa as a &dquo;hunger strike&dquo; makes this claim (DiNicola, 1988b). A moderate thesis is that specific cultural factors trigger the illness which is determined by many factors (including family interactions, individual psychology or biological predisposition). Culture change can trigger the emergence of anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls from immigrant families living in highly industrialized Western societies; my view of these cases of anorexia nervosa as a &dquo;culture-change syndrome&dquo; (DiNicola, 1985b) is elaborated in this part of my overview. The weak thesis is that culture is an envelope for the emergence of anorexia nervosa; in this version, culture is a specific socio-cultural address, container or