Feminist-Informed Protective Factors for Subthreshold Eating Disorders

Abstract

Despite knowledge that the larger sociocultural context contributes to the development of eating disorders, few studies have examined protective factors for women with subthreshold eating disorders. Using feminist-informed constructivist grounded theory methodology, 15 women (ages 18–25 years) with subthreshold eating disorders were interviewed. Results suggest that participants spoke of their subthreshold eating disorders in an externalized way and used protective factors to guide decision making toward their preferred values. A grounded theory model was developed to illustrate this process. Protective factors included (a) people who provide emotional and tangible support, (b) support people who challenge the eating disorder, (c) personal sense of agency, and (d) community activism and involvement. Participants experiencing subthreshold eating disorders demonstrated a capacity to distinguish their own thoughts and values from those of the “eating disorder voice,” and protective factors facilitated this process. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Purification, Punishment, and Control: Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Child Sexual Abuse

“…Eating disorders are debilitating, often enduring, and potentially life-threatening medical conditions, characterized by a marked disturbance in how one's body shape and weight are experienced (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Generally, people with eating disorders undergoing existing treatments experience poor long-term outcomes (Ben-Tovim, 2003;Bulik et al, 2007;Shapiro et al, 2007), and being female is the biggest risk factor for eating disorders (Wacker & Dolbin-MacNab, 2020). Yet, the dominant way of understanding and treating eating disorders is problematic.…”

Research into Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anorexia Nervosa Should be Funded

“…On the other side is the sociocultural perspective that focuses on social messages about gender, eating, and body shape that play a primary role in an individual’s development of an eating disorder. Since being female is the highest risk factor for developing an eating disorder (Wacker and Doblin-MacNab 2020 ), a number of researchers have asked whether there may be a relationship between holding a feminist identity and having greater resistance to developing an eating disorder (Borowsky et al 2016 ). The connection here is that women who identify as feminist may be more likely to be critically aware of the misogynistic cultural representations of women that can fuel disordered eating and thus more able to consciously reject those influences.…”

“…The connection here is that women who identify as feminist may be more likely to be critically aware of the misogynistic cultural representations of women that can fuel disordered eating and thus more able to consciously reject those influences. In addition, there is evidence that “feminist-informed protective factors” such as having support people who challenge disordered eating behaviours, being active in one’s community, and a strong sense of personal agency separate from physical appearance can be instrumental in preventing sub-threshold eating disorders from further developing into more severe, clinically diagnosable disorders (Wacker and Doblin-MacNab 2020 ).…”

Women, Exercise, and Eating Disorder Recovery: The Normal and the Pathological

“… Sholl (2015) , writing on Canguilhem, suggests that “given the right conditions, [people are creative and are capable of] establishing a new norm, of adapting to changing demands” (p. 410). During recovery, the women in this study used the safety of structure and routine to re-inscribe exercise with positive values, thus establishing new embodied practices that served them ( Wacker & Dolbin-MacNab, 2020 ).…”