College students' perceptions of individuals with anorexia and bulimia nervosa

Wingfield, Natalie; Kelly, Nichole R.; Serdar, Kasey; Shivy, Victoria A.; Mazzeo, Suzanne E.

doi:10.1002/eat.20824

Cited by 49 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(59 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Generally the students felt that disordered eating attracted a negative if not stigmatising label (n=9). This would seem to correspond with the literature where Wingfield et al [42] suggest a degree of stigma attaching to university students manifesting disordered eating and might possibly correlate with low treatment seeking evident amongst some students [5].…”

Section: Um Not Really For This Issue As Much It's Not Really Talkedsupporting

confidence: 88%

Disordered Eating in First Year University Students - A Qualitative Study Exploring Student and Supportive Service Needs

Power¹,

Lazenbatt²

2015

Int J Nurs Clin Pract

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study reports on a qualitative study exploring disordered eating in younger first-year students studying for professional health care related degrees (n=12), and illustrates some of the support mechanisms and services required to better support these students.Key issues emerging in relation to disordered eating included: lack of understanding to the nature/ risks associated; its use as a stress coping mechanism; isolation; perception as mental health issues with attaching stigma and reticence to acknowledge; concealed experience; wariness of eating in more public refectories. Finally positivity about their arrival at university and that their experience with disordered eating could potentially add to their repertoire as future health care professionals.The University could; further develop its outreach to new students with a more consistently supportive program including stress training and more support via student buddying; extend its program on positive mental health; greater awareness particularly the sub-clinical group; consider some small changes and adaptations to the refectory eating areas to better facilitate at-risk students. Significantly the University could perhaps better use the first few months of student's arrival at university to help embed a program to develop a stronger sense of coherence and wellbeing. Disordered Eating in First Year Review ArticleOpen Access BackgroundDisordered eating represents an over focus on body shape and weight reflecting in conditions marked by abnormal and disrupted attitudes to food and patterns of eating [1,2]. Evidence suggests that adolescence and early adulthood are the most vulnerable times to develop disordered eating patterns and predominantly those affected are young women aged 15-25 years [3][4][5]. Disordered eating can form part of a spectrum of disturbed eating patterns and behaviour presenting both in terms of significant and evident disability (clinical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating) or as a 'subclinical syndrome' but with a significant risk of psychological, social and physiological damage [3,[6][7][8][9]. The use of the term 'disordered eating' is possibly less pathologising and stigmatising than the use of the term 'eating disorder' and the connotations that may attached to this. The term disordered eating can reflect more the spectrum of disturbed eating patterns evident to the researcher during the course of the study and in reviewing the collective narrative from discussion.The first year as an undergraduate university student can be significantly stressful [2,[10][11][12]. We also know that stress may contribute to, or trigger patterns of disordered eating [4,13]. Young people cope with stress in various ways [14,15], and disordered eating patterns may represent a coping mechanism in periods of acute/on chronic stress [4,[16][17][18][19].Some of the contributory factors to a sense of coherence may help protectively for those who may be at risk [20][21][22]. A sense of coherence is represented by the ability to c...

show abstract

Section: Um Not Really For This Issue As Much It's Not Really Talkedsupporting

confidence: 88%

Disordered Eating in First Year University Students - A Qualitative Study Exploring Student and Supportive Service Needs

Power¹,

Lazenbatt²

2015

Int J Nurs Clin Pract

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…People with depression or eating disorders are similarly stereotyped as more “competent” (and “warm”) than those with schizophrenia (Sadler et al, 2012), suggesting greater responsibility. As with depression, describing AN in terms of genetics elicited less blame or responsibility (Crisafulli, 2008; 2010; Wingfield, 2011), as well as less perceived triviality, weakness, and selfishness (Crisafulli, 2010), and self-destructiveness (Wingfield, 2011). …”

Section: Genetics and Stigma For Different Psychiatric Diagnosesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies show mental illness stigma is usually exacerbated by biogenetic framing (see reviews by Angermeyer et al, 2011; Read et al, 2006). Yet studies of AN/BN suggest stigma-alleviation with genetic etiology (Crisafulli et al, 2008; 2010; Wingfield et al, 2011), likely because eating disorder stigma centers on personal responsibility, rather than dangerousness or unpredictability (which genetic framing appears to exacerbate; Angermeyer et al, 2011). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders

Easter¹

2012

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Medical researchers and clinicians increasingly understand and present eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia nervosa) as biologically-based psychiatric disorders, with genetic risk factors established by high heritability estimates in twin studies. But there has been no research on interpretation of genetic involvement by people with eating disorders, who may hold other views. Their interpretations are particularly important given the frequent presumption that biogenetic framing will reduce stigma, and recent findings that it exacerbates stigma for other mental illnesses. To identify implications of genetic framing in eating disorders, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 US women with a history of eating disorders (half recovered, half in treatment; interviewed 2008–9 in the USA). Interviews introduced the topic of genetics, but not stigma per se. Analysis followed the general principles of grounded theory to identify perceived implications of genetic involvement; those relevant to stigma are reported here. Most anticipated that genetic reframing would help reduce stigma from personal responsibility (i.e., blame and guilt for eating disorder as ongoing choice). A third articulated ways it could add stigma, including novel forms of stigma related to genetic essentialist effacing of social factors. Despite welcoming reductions in blame and guilt, half also worried genetic framing could hamper recovery, by encouraging fatalistic self-fulfilling prophecies and genetic excuses. This study is the first to elicit perceptions of genetic involvement by those with eating disorders, and contributes to an emerging literature on perceptions of psychiatric genetics by people with mental illness.

show abstract

“…[6,8,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Stuart [24] suggests that those living with mental illness are "amongst the most stigmatised groups in society". This perhaps reflects Goffman's [25] earlier work on the damaging effects of stigma particularly in relation to mental illness and the impact on the individual's whole personhood; Eisenburg, et al [10] Wingfield, et al [26] suggest the issues with disordered eating can carry a significant stigma, including amongst the college student population. The British Psychological Society [27] seems to favour the use of the term mental distress rather than mental illness, reflecting a significant proportion of sufferers lacking the coping resources to manage stressors; they suggested that a better approach to mental distress reflects the "overwhelming evidence that it is on a spectrum with normal experience" suggesting psychosocial factors as significantly causative.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Disordered eating whether a form of psychopathol-ogy or reflective of problems in living appears to carry a rather negative label and in some instances stigma. [5,26,35,36] Wingfield et al [26] suggest that amongst university students disordered eating carries a stigma with bulimia nervosa carrying a significant stigmatised image of poor self-control. The authors note the sometimes negative impact of media portrayals in the sense of reinforcing potential stigma, and a sense amongst the general public of the individual's responsibility for their condition.…”

Section: Sense Of Coherencementioning

confidence: 99%

Mental illness or mental distress; stigma and concealment in University students - a discussion paper

Power

2015

IJH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This discussion paper addresses the issue of mental distress, sometimes mis-perceived or misinterpreted as mental illness. The focus is on positive psychology. Reflecting in part on a UK-based study with younger University students studying to health related degrees, nursing, midwifery and medicine (N = 12), many of the students were apparently suffering dis-stress with disordered eating at least in part being used as a coping mechanism. However notwithstanding that they were at the end of their first year studies in health, a significant number of the students interpreted their approach to eating as a mental illness. Consequently, many within the study felt stigmatised and were reluctant to acknowledge certainly to the University health care authorities that there was an issue; perceiving both academic and career/professional consequences of mental health labelling. The paper approaches the issue of mental health from a health promoting perspective, reflecting against the theory of salutogenesis and its focus within the three dimensions of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness as an approach to building resilience and managing stressors to better facilitate a sense of coherence. Complex manifestations of distress and poor coping mechanisms can in some cases be misinterpreted or miss perceived as mental illness. Promoting mental health and reducing the stigma of mental illness or the misperception of mental distress as mental illness, would need to be addressed in order to more effectively outreach certainly to younger University students who might be at risk. The focus should be on how better to promote their sense of coherence.

show abstract

College students' perceptions of individuals with anorexia and bulimia nervosa

Cited by 49 publications

References 30 publications

Disordered Eating in First Year University Students - A Qualitative Study Exploring Student and Supportive Service Needs

Disordered Eating in First Year University Students - A Qualitative Study Exploring Student and Supportive Service Needs

“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders

Mental illness or mental distress; stigma and concealment in University students - a discussion paper

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About