The interplay of eating disorders, attachment styles and Judaism: A literature review
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Abstract
Every year, 3.3 million people across the world lose their life to an eating disorder (van Hoeken and Hoek, 2020). They are an extremely fatal and, unfortunately, prevalent illness. The development of eating disorders is a wide field that is rapidly growing. Researchers have embarked on a mission to identify risk factors that could lead to the onset of eating disorders. Common factors include family history, family environment, relationships with peers and parents and religion (Ericsson et al., 2011). Familial environment and relationships can have significant impact on a child’s temperament and behavior, thus being an important factor when investigating the case of a patient with an eating disorder. Furthermore, research shows that one’s association with both a religious community and religion as a whole, the laws and God, can also play an important factor in the diagnosis of an eating disorder (Mitra et al., 2023). While previous literature does examine the relationships between eating disorders, familial attachments and religion, it does not investigate the interplay of these factors as a combined variable in the development of eating disorders. Furthermore, there are few studies done on the impact of Judaism, specifically, on the development of eating disorders. While studies focus on the Ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, population, few focus on the Centrist-Orthodox population. Lastly, studies do not focus on the impact of Jewish law in itself, rather the social and cultural implications. Therefore, these limitations provide room for further studies exploring the impact of Jewish law on more left wing, Jewish populations. Implications of these studies include effective treatment plans for religious Jews and heightened awareness and sensitivity in such communities.