Bingein and purging behaviors in higher education: prevalence rates and help seeking behaviors

Riccardo SERRA^1,2,3, Glenn KIEKENS², Johan VANDERLINDEN², Laurence CLAES², Lorenzo TARSITANI³, Ronny BRUFFAERTS²

¹University of Verona, Verona, Italy
²KU Leuven university, Leuven, Belgium
³Sapienza university of Rome, Rome, Italy

Introduction: This study has been conducted on a large, representative group of volunteer students. It aimed at estimating the prevalence of bingeing and purging behaviors (BPB), the portion of these students who received treatments for their mental health, the type of treatment received, as well as barriers to treatment. The study also aims at comparing results between different BPB groups (bingeing only, purging only, bingeing and purging) and between these groups and other students suffering from other mental health problems. Methods: Web-based self-report surveys were obtained from 18,723 students in all the higher education institutions from the Flemish College Surveys (FLeCS) in Flanders, Belgium. As part of the World Health Organization's World Mental Health—International College Student Initiative, the survey uses validated tools and scales. We screened for lifetime and 12-month BPB, numerous other mental health problems, type of treatment (psychotherapy, pharmacological treatments, other), and a variety of possible barriers to treatment. Results: One in five (24.7%) of the respondents reported 12-month BPB. Lifetime and 12-month service use were low, with lifetime estimates of 52.6% and 39.0%, respectively. The most relevant barriers to treatment among students with BPB were: preference to handle the problem alone; sensation that costs are too high; and uncertainty regarding where to find help. Average scores were significantly different between BPB groups, with a dose-response association with the number of BPB symptoms they experienced. The relevance of barriers to treatment is qualitatively similar between the BPB group and students with other mental health problems. Quantitatively, however, BPB seems to have a boosting effect on all the barriers, with average scores in this group being significantly higher. Discussion: BPB prevalence has increased in the last few years. There is a high unmet treatment need for BPB among college students. A reallocation of treatment resources for higher education students might be warranted.