Eating disorders (ED), such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and
bulimia nervosa (BN), are associated with significant difficulties in
social/interpersonal functioning, and such difficulties are thought
to play an important role in the onset and maintenance of these
disorders [46].
There is substantial evidence to suggest that many people who
later develop ED already experience difficulties in the social/
interpersonal domain during childhood, i.e. they are shy and have
few friends [16,22]. Severe life events and chronic difficulties in the
social/interpersonal domain trigger the onset of ED in the majority
of cases [38,50]. People with established ED have high degrees of
co-morbid social anxiety [44] or social phobia [23]. They compare
themselves unfavorably to others and perceive themselves to
have a lower social rank than others [30,47]. Moreover, they
have more limited social networks with fewer supportive relationships
[45]. ED patients worry a lot about their interpersona