AbstractThe apparent increase in the incidence of anorexia nervosa and associated disorders prompted the present investigation of the relative impact of varying levels of anorexia on life adjustment of late adolescent women. Three groups of women were compared on measures of social adjustment and symptomatic distress; these groups were: primary anorexics, college women manifesting high levels of “anorexic‐like” behavior, and asymptomatic college controls. Despite the prevalence of “anorexic‐like” behaviors among college women, such behaviors did not seriously affect the academic performance, social‐leisure adjustment or family relations of these women. The lives of outpatient primary anorexics were seriously impaired