Causes Of Anorexia Nervosa In Karen Carpenter
Did Personality Traits, Situations Or Events Play A Role?

Causes of anorexia nervosa in Karen Carpenter’s life are unknown. The truth is, nobody can say for sure what causes anorexia in anyone. However some people believe that certain facts about Karen's life may suggest a predisposition to the development of an eating disorder.

Anorexia research has provided us with many details about the illness in the years since the death of Karen Carpenter. Had we known then what we know today, it's likely that her life could have been different.

Studies have shown that there are certain "ingredients" - (or what some refer to as the 'causes of anorexia nervosa') - that are commonly present in the lives of most individuals who develop eating disorders.

Some of these factors are behavioral, others are emotional or environmental - such as life situations, family relationships and so on.

As I read Little Girl Blue - the latest (and best!) Karen Carpenter biography, I was amazed at how similar many of her "habits and rituals" were to mine.

Even more amazing was how closely her family situations resembled everything that I've ever read with regards to the factors that are thought to be the 'causes of anorexia nervosa' and predispose someone to developing this eating disorder.

Family Relationships Among The Causes Of Anorexia Nervosa?

It's important to emphasize that family relationships cannot be pinned as the only causes of anorexia nervosa. There are many contributing factors, and I'm simply examining this one aspect.

It's been said that eating disorders can develop in people who have strained and difficult relationships with one or more parents.

For everything that's been documented about Karen Carpenter's relationship with her mother, Agnes Carpenter, one could definitely describe their relationship as difficult - especially for Karen.

It just seems as if Agnes Carpenter's whole life revolved around her son, Richard. Agnes once said that Richard was the serious musician in the family. She and her husband moved everyone from Connecticut to California so that Richard would have more opportunities for his music endeavors.

This is just an example, but if you read between the lines, events like this could send Karen a message that her interests are not worth as much as her brother's. Her talents seemed to go virtually unrecognized by her mother.

In Her Mother's Eyes - Second Fiddle To Richard Carpenter?

After all that I've read about the Carpenters, and after seeing the Karen Carpenter Story on television in 1989, I have to wonder if Karen - in her mother's eyes - played second fiddle her brother, Richard Carpenter.

I already mentioned a couple of situations where you might be able to see some evidence of that, but there are others that leave me scratching my head.

For instance, Karen wanted a drum set - and only got one because Richard convinced his Mom and Dad that it would be a good idea.

Even though Karen was the voice of The Carpenters music, and well loved by fans, it's pretty evident in Little Girl Blue that Agnes worked hard to make sure that people knew Richard started the group and that he was responsible for the musical arrangements and overall sound.

It's obvious that Karen loved her brother and they got along well. In their own way, I'm sure that Karen and her mother loved each other, despite the fact that Agnes was unable to actually say it to Karen during a therapy session.

Since it's possible that family relationships and hidden emotions play some kind of a role in the causes of anorexia nervosa, it seems quite understandable that these issues may have profoundly affected Karen as well. Perhaps more than any of us will ever know.

Learn more about the various other anorexia symptoms.

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