That's an interesting point of view. I mean, you're making a lot if assumptions to get to the conclusion but it's certainly possible and does seem like it would fit in this case.
Do you a link to video of her skating? All I could find was video of one of her sisters which I admit was far less than impressive, especially with a skate teacher for a mom.
However, if no one in the family was a star or even remotely
close, why would she feel such pressure?
Hi Gitana1--just saw your post. To try to answer...the pressure comes from within and is not necessarily related to the ability level of the child. The inner perfectionistic urging or 'voices' (attitudes) that propel are those gradually absorbed and owned by the child over the years from the external voices (sometimes parents, sometimes coaches, sometimes peers, sometimes a combination of several). The research varies slightly, but generally speaking, these kinds of kids are usually compliant 'pleasers' who have adopted perfectionistic standards and can be as hard on themselves as the grownups around them. From what I've read (and this is just MOO), Justina's parents are intense, reactive, somewhat domineering and controlling. This is the typical scenario that produces a compliant, perfectionistic child who will do anything to avoid the ballistic parental reaction if they sense they are falling short of their parents' standard of perfection.
I'll look for the skating video link and post it below if I find it again.
Can you link to support for that last statement? I would think maybe professional, competitive athletes are at risk for more mental health issues in general. But not specifically any or all dancers or skaters and specifically somatoform. Enlighten me! I'm always up for learning from those who know more. I'm interested in psychology but it's not my thing.
Well, for background, here’s just a basic Wiki overview about what all falls under this broad category of Somatic Disorder (now preferably called
Somatic Symptom Disorders):
Somatic symptom disorders are actually a group of disorders, all of which fit the definition of physical symptoms that mimic physical disease or injury for which there is no identifiable physical cause; as such, they are a diagnosis of exclusion. They are recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association as the following:[4]
• Conversion disorder: A somatic symptom disorder involving the actual loss of bodily function such as blindness, paralysis, and numbness due to excessive anxiety
• Somatization disorder: A disorder characterized by multiple physical complaints which do not have a medical explanation.[7]
• Hypochondriasis: A somatic symptom disorder involving persistent and excessive worry about developing a serious illness. This disorder has recently gone under review and has been altered into three different classifications.[citation needed]
• Body dysmorphic disorder: wherein the afflicted individual is concerned with body image, and is manifested as excessive concern about and preoccupation with a perceived defect of their physical appearance.
• Pain disorder
• Undifferentiated somatic symptom disorder – only one unexplained symptom is required for at least 6 months.
Included among these disorders are false pregnancy, psychogenic urinary retention, and mass psychogenic illness (so-called mass hysteria).
• Somatoform disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)[8]
The ICD-10 classifies conversion disorder as a dissociative disorder.
The one in blue is the one that sounds similar to what Justina might be experiencing. Of all these types, the one in red (
Body Dysmorphic Disorder, which can lead to eating disorders) has long been considered prevalent in sports that are highly competitive, artistic, and aesthetic—primarily ballet/dance, figure-skating, and gymnastics. Coaches historically have stressed strict diet along with physical training in elite athletes in these fields...and there is an increased risk for these athletes to develop anorexia, bulimia, and other combinations of eating disorders that derive from disordered body image. The rigorous training combined with restricted diets in leanness-oriented sports can often delay menarche in elite athletes, and eating disorders often hit these kids during early adolescence as they seek to control their body’s natural inclination to add weight and curves. And this can happen not just with the 'elite' athletes, but the ones that take what they do extraordinarily seriously, regardless of expertise.
There is a LOT of research in the field (psych and sports psych, books, articles etc.) and you've probably read some of it. A lot of this research focuses on elite athletes--but EDs can happen to any girl who takes her self, life, and/or sport seriously (regardless of level of ability). Here are a few more links (I’ve tried to just list PDF online or books you can maybe locate since most people don’t have memberships to some of these psych journals):
1) “Eating disorders continue to be on the rise among athletes, especially those involved in sports that place great emphasis on the athlete to be thin. Sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, dancing and synchronized swimming have a higher percentage of athletes with eating disorders, than sports such as basketball, skiing and volleyball. According to a 1992 American College of Sports Medicine study, eating disorders affected 62 percent of females in sports like figure skating and gymnastics.”
See more at:
http://www.mirror-mirror.org/athlete.htm#sthash.zHriCN1I.dpuf
2) “The prevalence of EDs is higher in athletes than in con-
trols, higher in female athletes than in male athletes, and more
common among those competing in leanness-dependent and
weight-dependent sports than in other sports.”
http://byttpassord.nih.no/documents...etes is higher than in general population.pdf
3) [PDF]
Risk and trigger factors for the development of eating disorders in female elite athletes
http://general.utpb.edu/FAC/eldridge_j/KINE6362/Readings/Unit5_2.pdf
4)
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=skaters+AND+"eating+disorders"&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0,44
saintfrancis.com [PDF]
[PDF]
Athletes and eating disorders: the National Collegiate Athletic Association study
5)
Eating disorders in sport
TA Petrie, CA Greenleaf - Handbook of sport psychology, 2007 - books.google.com
... Although not substantial in quan- tity, we highlight the research that has been conducted on single
sports, in particular gymnastics, figure skating, and wrestling. The prevalence of eating disorders
among female gym- nasts and figure skaters seems to be relatively high (Dick ...
Cited by 114
Related articles
6)
Nutritional status of female athletes with subclinical eating disorders
KA Beals, MM Manore - Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1998 - Elsevier
... female athletes, particularly those who participate in sports that emphasize leanness (eg,
gymnastics, distance running, diving, figure skating, and classical ... have examined the dietary
intakes of female athletes who have or are at risk for clinical eating disorders report extremely ...
Cited by 103
Related articles
7)
http://www.cignabehavioral.com/web/...atingDisorders/athletesAndEatingDisorders.pdf