Eating Disorders in Sport: From Theory to Research to Intervention

Clinical perfectionism and eating psychopathology in athletes: The role of gender

“…Given that sport organizations and clubs are ethically and legally responsible for the health and welfare of their athletes (Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007), it is imperative that practices which promote negative evaluation within athletes are minimised. Thus it would seem necessary that sporting environments minimize the risk of promoting self-critical perfectionism in female athletes, through promoting enjoyment and intrinsic motivation (Goodwin et al, 2014).…”

Editorial: Towards a more sophisticated approach to eating disorders in sport research

“…Although initial athlete eating disorder research had been limited theoretically, methodologically, and statistically (see Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007, over the last 10 years researchers have moved beyond simple self-report prevalence studies and between-group comparisons (i.e., athletes vs. nonathletes) to incorporate more sophisticated, multivariate designs that have advanced our understanding of the psychosocial correlates and risk and maintenance factors and of the unique lived experiences of athletes with eating disorders and body image concerns. The inclusion of such approaches is an important first step and we encourage its continuation, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in doing so.…”

“…Working from theoretical models provides an explanation for why and how the variables might be related to one another. Socioculturally-based, athlete specific models do exist (Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007; and can serve as a guide for multivariate examinations of correlates in athlete samples (see Petrie, Galli, Greenleaf, Reel, & Carter, this issue, as an example). Such multivariate approaches allow researchers to determine the relative importance of variables in predicting body image concerns and/or eating disorder behaviors.…”

Narrative Constructions of Anorexia and Abuse: An Athlete's Search for Meaning in Trauma

“…The above quotes are indicative of the dominant understanding within psychology and sport psychology that suggests performance related weight pressures in sporting environments encourage disordered eating in vulnerable individuals (Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986;Smolak et al 2000;Beals, 2004, Petrie & Greenleaf, 2007, Dosil, 2008, Thomspon & Sherman, 2010). Beth's consideration of this narrative as a means of explanation seemed out of sync with the experiences of much of her life history.…”