Reference
- PicaEating inedible objects, or items not normally considered suitable for food, or the desire to eat inedible substances is pica. Often those objects are strange or even repulsive.The phenomenon occurs throughout the world and has been recorded for centuries. The most common explanation is that those who evidence pica are seeking trace materials or inorganic minerals missing from their diet and desperately needed by their bodies. In particular, iron deficiency anemia and zinc deficiency have bee cited as possible triggers. However, there is lack of evidence for this explanation. The craving for certain textures in the mouth has also been suggested as a reason for pica.
Pica is seen most often in young children, in children and adults with developmental disabilities, or in persons with severe psychiatric disorders. Pica is also not uncommon in pregnant women. Corbett et al found that “Pica exists, and might be more common than healthcare providers assume. Although this study did not show specific pregnancy complications associated with pica, other studies have shown anemia and lead poisoning among women who practice pica. It is not clear that patients volunteer information about pica, so it would be helpful if nurses queried patients at each prenatal visit regarding pica practice. Discussion of pica practices should be based on a nonjudgmental model, for pica may have strong cultural implications, and may be practiced for cultural reasons unknown to the nurse.”
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Streaming Media
- Pica: An Unspoken Eating DisorderPica is a type of eating disorder in which people compulsively eat non-nutritive substances, such as ice, dirt, paint chips and clay. When you hear the term “eating disorder” it is highly likely that anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder come to mind. Many fail to realize that there are several other clinically recognized eating disorders, including the generally unspoken condition of Pica. In the following video we discuss the prevalence, causes, complications and treatments associated with Pica in order to raise greater awareness for this condition.
Articles
- Behavioral Treatments for Pica: A Review of Empirical StudiesBehavioral treatments for the eating disorder pica are reviewed. An extensive search of the literature yielded five previous reviews, 45 articles, and 3 dissertations. Interventions designed to reduce pica are described, including self-protective devices, overcorrection, water mist and aromatic ammonia, brief restraint, differential reinforcement, discrimination training, patient self-report, and ecological modifications. Many interventions were associated with reductions or eliminations of pica and required few hours of intensive therapist or staff involvement. Methodological problems with the published data base on pica are assessed. Suggestions for further primary research and reviews are included.
- Pica Disorder among African American Women: A Call for Action and Further Research.Pica is simply defined as the consumption of none food products such as laundry starch, clay dirt, ice, soap, and chalk. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies Pica as the habitual consumption of nonfood and non-nutritive substances for at least one year. Pica disorder is usually unnoticed, under-reported, causes serious harm to clients especially African American women, and seldom discussed in social work scholarship. It is, therefore, important to begin to sensitize social workers to the harmful effects of Pica, especially because it is often unrecognized and misdiagnoses can cause harm. This article provides a panoramic overview of Pica, the signs and symptoms of the disorder specifically among African American women and also address some of the adverse effects, and highlights some of the evidence-based effective treatment strategies. Finally, an urgent clarion call to social workers to conduct more research on Pica disorders among African American women is articulated.
- Prevention of Pica, The Major Cause of Lead Poisoning in Children.The article focuses on the prevention of pica, which is the major cause of lead poisoning in children. Lead poisoning is recognized as a preventable manmade disease and more often than not its victims are children. Since the early 1940s legislation has controlled the lead content for paint, but in most slum dwellings the original paint, containing dangerous quantities of lead, is available to children through cracks and holes in the walls. The mortality of plumbism is high and many survivors are subject to brain damage of varying severity. During the time span necessary for effective housing replacement much emphasis should be given to the prevention of pica in children who still have to grow up in hazardous surroundings. Since the prevention of pica is largely in the hands of the family it is very important for the mother to recognize the ingestion of plaster or paint as a threat to the child's life or health and not as an innocuous habit, which will be outgrown in time. In order to reduce the incidence of lead poisoning and its serious consequences, it is necessary to prevent small children from eating plaster and paint, which is the most frequent source of excessive lead intake in this age group.
Perspectives
Craving Earth
Humans have eaten earth, on purpose, for more than 2,300 years. They also crave starch, ice, chalk, and other unorthodox items of food. Some even claim they are addicted and "go crazy" without these items, but why? Sifting through extensive historical, ethnographic, and biomedical findings, Sera L. Young creates a portrait of pica, or nonfood cravings, from humans' earliest ingestions to current trends and practices. In engaging detail, she describes the substances most frequently consumed and the many methods (including the Internet) used to obtain them. She reveals how pica is remarkably prevalent (it occurs in nearly every human culture and throughout the animal kingdom), identifies its most avid partakers (pregnant women and young children), and describes the potentially healthful and harmful effects. She evaluates the many hypotheses about the causes of pica, from the fantastical to the scientific, including hunger, nutritional deficiencies, and protective capacities. Never has a book examined pica so thoroughly or accessibly, merging absorbing history with intimate case studies to illuminate an enigmatic behavior deeply entwined with human biology and culture.
Pica in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical phenomenon of pica. It focuses specifically on the disorder as it presents in children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). Initial chapters introduce current theories and definitions, followed by a more detailed examination of how developmental disabilities complicate diagnosis and intervention. The volume describes evidence-based and clinically sound approaches to the treatment and prevention of pica in school and adult clinical settings, ranging from behavioral treatment to function-based interventions. In addition, it discusses common diagnostic, client, and provider issues that result in pica remaining undetected among individuals with ASD and ID. Featured topics include: Definition of pica in accessible terms, differentiating between various forms of the disorder. Issues and practical methods of prevention and treatment of pica in developmentally disabled persons. Functional and behavioral assessment methods for pica in individuals with ASD and ID. A range of effective behavioral and nonbehavioral treatments for pica. Illustrative cases and service delivery challenges. Areas for future research and practice. Pica in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities is an invaluable resource for researchers, clinicians and other professionals, and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, behavior analysis/therapy, and social work as well as child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatrics, family studies, and special education.