Social identity in eating disorders

Abstract

This qualitative study examines social identity in eating disorders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight females with an eating disorder diagnosis. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. Three superordinate themes emerged from participants' accounts: (1) Shifts in social identity; (2) Outgroup perceptions and influences and (3) Eating disorders as an ingroup. The findings suggested that a person's social identity can change during the course of having an eating disorder, and an interaction between social identity and a person's recovery from an eating disorder was proposed. Clinical implications, methodological issues, and directions for future research were discussed.

Identity and Eating Disorders (IDEA): A Questionnaire Evaluating Identity and Embodiment in Eating Disorder Patients

“…In this paper, we build on and extend Fairburn and Harrison’s idea, as well as other reports [16,17,18,19,20,21,22], and especially we develop the hypothesis that persons with EDs are affected by a more profound disturbance consisting in disorders of the way they experience their own body (embodiment) and shape their personal identity, assuming that the various kinds of anomalies of eating behavior are a consequence thereof. Patients with EDs are characterized by an excessive concern for their own appearance [3,23].…”

Perfectionism as a social identity in eating disorders: A qualitative investigation of identity navigation

“…Our sample was somewhat heterogeneous in their recovery stage and age, especially in comparison to previous studies (Cruzat-Mandich, Díaz-Castrillón, Escobar-Koch, & Simpson, 2017;Ison & Kent, 2010;Petersson et al, 2017). Our sample was somewhat heterogeneous in their recovery stage and age, especially in comparison to previous studies (Cruzat-Mandich, Díaz-Castrillón, Escobar-Koch, & Simpson, 2017;Ison & Kent, 2010;Petersson et al, 2017).…”

“…Most research on perfectionism in the EDs still focuses on this construct as being purely a personal characteristic and therefore, purely a part of personal identity. Meanwhile, only one qualitative study with women with EDs to date has used the SIA to investigate disordered eating in general, without a focus on perfectionism (Ison & Kent, 2010). For example, a recent qualitative study on 15 women with EDs found that perfectionism was primarily linked to affect regulation, but because of the researchers' assumptions that perfectionism is personal, they only incidentally revealed themes about the social context (Petersson et al, 2017).…”

Women's Mental Health

“…Relying on DSM categorizations may hierarchize EDs (Ison & Kent, 2010 ). Anorexia nervosa (AN), taking the "gold" position, was classifi ed in the DSM-IV as the "refusal" to maintain one's weight at/above "minimally normal" (85 %) weight for age and height and a number of body weight/shape-related criteria including the denial of the seriousness of the disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000 ).…”

“…Individuals' embodiments and social identities may play a role in shaping thoughts around and desires for recovery (Ison & Kent, 2010 ). Few scholars have examined how biomedical defi nitions, compounded with classifi cations for recovery, may impact the extent to which those with EDs (diagnosed or undiagnosed) feel that this construct is available to them.…”