Eating Disorders and Social Support: Perspectives of Recovered Individuals

Abstract

Eating disorder researchers have focused more on the etiology and treatment and less on what happens for individuals during the recovery process from an eating disorder. For this qualitative study, we examined how social supports were helpful and hurtful during the eating disorder recovery process and learned about varying experiences with social supports from the perspectives of 22 recovered women. Participants reported that eating disorder recovery is largely influenced by the individual's sense of connection to self and others. In addition, participants shared that the focus of care from providers influenced their recovery process in powerful ways. Clinical implications and future research ideas are presented for clinicians and researchers working in the area of eating disorders.

Eating disorder literacy and stigmatising attitudes towards anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder among adolescents

“…This stigma-consciousness (Pinel, 2002) functions as a significant barrier to accessing appropriate support and treatment (Griffiths et al, 2014a). Furthermore, it can undermine the effectiveness of the support systems that are available: poor ED literacy can result in family members, friends and even health professionals offering advice that is based on misconceptions of the nature of EDs and the recovery process (Linville, Brown, Sturm & McDougal, 2012;McNamara, 2014). If such well-intentioned advice is judged inappropriate by recipients, it may hinder rather than help recovery (Linville et al, 2012) It is important to acknowledge the limitations of the study.…”

A Qualitative Analysis of Female Collegiate Athletes’ Eating Disorder Recovery Experiences

“…In our study, the eating disorder was often closely tied to athletic performance and tied to the individual's identity as an athlete. Linville et al (2012) described the hindering influence of isolation and of others who made negative comments or trivialized the disorder, similar to the descriptions provided by our athletes as to how coaches and teammates (or isolation from teammates when sport participation was prohibited) negatively influenced their recovery. Uniquely in our sample, it was noted that the pressures to achieve and maintain an athletic body type were intertwined with factors that hindered recovery.…”

“…nonathletes in recovery to describe factors that motivate women to initiate recovery from eating disorders and factors that exert helpful and hurtful influences on the process (Pettersen & Rosenvinge, 2002;Cockell, Zaitsoff & Geller, 2004;Lamoureux & Bottorff, 2005;Nilson & Hägglöf, 2006;Tozzi, Sullivan, Fear, McKenzie & Bulik, 2003;D'Abundo, & Chally, 2004;Matusek & Knudson, 2009;Linville, Brown, Sturm, & McDougal, 2012;Pettersen, Thune-Larsen, Wynn, & Rosenvinge, 2013). Across these studies, recovery was frequently initiated due to awareness of negative consequences of the disorder or feeling "fed up" with the lifestyle.…”

The Relation Between Eating Disorder Symptoms and Impairment

“…This may reflect the relatively young age of participants and is partially supported by findings that, for many college students, perceived support from family is strongly associated with well-being, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease • Volume 203, Number 6, June 2015 ED Symptoms and Impairment even across cultures (e.g., Brannan et al, 2013). Interestingly, there was significant mediation pathways (and correlations) for perceived social support and impairment but not social coping (as measured by the Brief COPE), which might suggest that perceptions of social support were more important in this sample than actual support (e.g., Limbert, 2010; see also Linville et al, 2012), although this conclusion is not definitive. There was no association with physical health QoL.…”

“…In particular, perceived social support has been previously highlighted as important in patients' evaluations of their QoL (de la Rie et al, 2007), and social support has been shown to buffer the effects of symptoms of depression on functioning and QoL in other populations (e.g., Hays et al, 2001;Rockhill et al, 2009). Similarly, ED sufferers have identified social support as important in their recovery (e.g., Hsu et al, 1992;Linville et al, 2012). Social support is a broad concept, encompassing emotional as well as practical support, and also covers both actual levels of social support, and perceived adequacy of that support (e.g., see Tiller et al, 1997).…”