Facebook usage among those who have received treatment for an eating disorder in a group setting

Abstract

Objective This study explored Facebook use among individuals with a history of receiving treatment for an eating disorder (ED) in a group setting (e.g., inpatient, residential, outpatient group), focusing primarily on comparisons individuals make about their bodies, eating, or exercise to those of their peers from treatment on Facebook and the relation between these comparisons and ED pathology. Method Individuals (N = 415; mean age 28.15 years ± 8.41; 98.1% female) who self-reported receipt of ED treatment in a group setting were recruited via email and social media to complete an online survey. Results Participants reported having an average of 10–19 Facebook friends from treatment and spending up to 30 minutes per day interacting on Facebook with individuals from treatment or ED-related organizations. More comparison to treatment peers on Facebook was associated with greater ED psychopathology and ED-related impairment. Conversely, positive interaction with treatment peers on Facebook was associated with lower ED psychopathology and ED-related impairment. Individuals who had been in treatment longer, more times, and more recently had more Facebook friends from treatment and ED-related organizations as well as spent more time in ED groups’ pages on Facebook. Few participants (19.5%) reported that a therapist asked about the impact of Facebook on pathology. Discussion Interactions on Facebook could affect patients’ recovery and potential for relapse. It may be helpful for treatment providers to discuss Facebook use and its potential benefits and drawbacks with patients preparing for discharge from group treatment.

Social comparisons in eating disorder recovery: Using PhotoVoice to capture the sociocultural influences on women's recovery

“…The majority of comparisons were recovery hindering, and featured comparisons to the ED self, media, and peers, either in face‐to‐face or online interactions. This is unsurprising, given prior findings emphasizing the detrimental effect of comparison on disordered eating outcomes, including those to peers in recovery (Saffran et al, ). The common targets align with those predicted by the Triparte Influence Model (Keery, van den Berg, & Thompson, ), with the ED “self” replacing family as the third mode of influence.…”

Snaps, Selfies, and Shares: How Three Popular Social Media Platforms Contribute to the Sociocultural Model of Disordered Eating Among Young Women

“…Recent research finds that less than 20% of participants in ED recovery have discussed the impacts of SNS with a therapist. 65 Given the profound association between disordered eating and the three forms of SNS, it is important that these interrelations be integrated into clinical settings.…”

Analyzing big data in social media: Text and network analyses of an eating disorder forum

“…All kinds of topics including health and mental health related issues are discussed online among peers, producing huge amounts of content and communication related data (see e.g., http://www.internetlivestats.com). A number of experimental studies investigated the effects of social media exposure on eating disorders (ED) or ED risk factors mostly in controlled laboratory settings (e.g., Cohen & Blaszczynski, ), several cross‐sectional questionnaire studies explored the relationships between the use of social network sites and different kinds of (ED) pathology (Becker et al, ; Eckler, Kalyango, & Paasch, ; Murray, Maras, & Goldfield, ; Saffran et al, ; Sidani, Shensa, Hoffman, Hanmer, & Primack, ; Valkenburg, Koutamanis, & Vossen, ; Walker et al, ). Meta analyses provide further support for the relevance of (social) media for ED (Holland & Tiggemann, ; Mingoia, Hutchinson, Wilson, & Gleaves, ; Rodgers, Lowy, Halperin, & Franko, ).…”