A young woman does not want to be weak or average, yet also fears taking risks or asserting herself. Her familiar ways of being a good girl and winning the approval of parents and others no longer makes sense. Her desires frighten her. She cannot come to terms with her physical growth, sexual maturity, and impending separation from her family. According to this theory, compulsive fasting restores a sense of order in her life by allowing her to exert some control over herself and others.
Some theorists go further and say that girls starve themselves to extinguish feelings of emptiness.
They develop a sense of self through a struggle for perfection, which they conduct by denying themselves food. Now, they do not need to depend on others to tell them who they are and what they are worth. In several studies they have been found to be no different from female psychiatric patients in general. According to one theory, parents have encouraged them to eat when they are not hungry by feeding them to quiet them or put them to sleep. Another suggestion is that food serves as a substitute for love.