Calorie counting, dieting, and weight watching, have become fixtures in the language of the media, thus globalizing this preoccupation with slimness (Simpson, 2002). Simpson then goes on to describe the dual-pathway model, which states that the messages the media puts out predispose individuals to eating disorders when they are surrounded by friends and family reinforcing those messages. Low self-esteem and the negative perception of being above an ideal weight also contributes to the development of eating disorders. Therefore, it is apparent that although culture does have a role to play in the development of these disorders, it is mediated through interactions such as family and peers. .
Troop (1998) did a study examining the possibility of the development of an eating disorder as a coping strategy. Troop found that this idea is "a modern causal explanation for eating disorders, based on the association between stress and symptoms (p. 235)."" He also concludes that this theory fails to take into account the fact that stress is not necessarily a requirement for the symptoms, and it may prove to be a misleading and unhelpful model to some patients. .
Another study of undergraduate women at a southwestern university suggests that anorexic symptoms may be a means of getting dependency needs met while asserting one's individualism (Petrie and Rogers, 2001). Bulimic symptoms may be an attempt to "manage the lack of self-confidence that comes from failed attempts to meet the cultural thin ideal- (Petrie and Rogers, 2001). College women with anorexic and bulimic symptoms show obsessive and dependent qualities. However, this study did not reveal whether these personality traits were merely symptoms present in women with the disorder or if they were predispositional factors leading up to the onset of the disorder (Petire and Rogers, 2001, p.79). .
Finally, in another study the role of one's family environment was addressed (Humfress et al.
