What Causes Eating Disorders in Teens?

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Many studies show various contributing factors that may lead a person into the development of an eating disorder. An individual may become a victim of an eating disorder due to problems in their social or personal lives. The causes of eating disorders are not factors of just one specific situation, but can root from many areas of ones life. Studies have narrowed down what seems to be the most popular causes for a person to develop these eating disorders. Severe disorders in individuals’ eating habits can stem from many factors including but not limited to childhood and adulthood emotional, physical and sexual abuse, poor body image, substance abuse, and their living environment.

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If this process goes awry, the teen is likely to have negative feelings about the self, leading to a low sense of self-esteem. Many recent studies have provided evidence that disruptions in the formation and stability of one's self-esteem can lead to various psychological problems, such as eating disorders. Are Low Self-Esteem and Eating Disorders Related? Although it is often thought of as only an "anecdotal contention that low selfesteem is a trait of eating disorders" (Wilfiams 1993), this fact has been empirically proven time and time again. With the use of various questionnaires and inventories, researchers such as Schupak-Neuberg, Rosen and Button have found that low self-esteem occurs very commonly in patients with eating disorders.

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