Quality of life as a vulnerability and recovery factor in eating disorders : a community-based study

Deborah Mitchison, Lisa Dawson, Lucy Hand, Jonathan Mond, Phillipa Hay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that changes in quality of life (QoL) predicts later changes in eating disorder (ED) symptoms. The objective of this study was to explore individual sufferers' perspectives on the influence of QoL on the onset, maintenance, and/or remission of ED symptoms. Method: 19 women from the community with a history of eating disorders (n = 13 currently symptomatic; n = 6 recovered) were interviewed about their observations on the relationship between QoL and ED symptoms over time in their own lives. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed, and then thematically analysed. Results: Thematic analysis uncovered two major themes: 1. QoL as a Vulnerability Factor, and 2. QoL as a Recovery Factor. In relation to the first theme, onset of ED symptoms was discussed by women in this study as having been triggered by impairment in QoL, including a general sense of lacking control in life, stress, abusive intimate relationships, poor role modelling from family, physical impairment related to obesity, peer pressure, and weight-related teasing. On the other hand, and in relation to the second theme, subsequent improvement in QoL was nominated as central to symptom improvement and recovery. QoL improvement was described by participants differently, but included increased general satisfaction in life, emotional maturation, prioritising and improving physical health, the development of a supportive intimate relationship and social relationships, and having children. Conclusions: Impairment in QoL may act as a trigger for the onset and maintenance of ED symptoms, whereas improvement in QoL may be central to eating disorder improvement and eventual recovery. Treatment should involve consideration of a core focus on QoL improvement as a potential 'backdoor' approach to improving ED symptoms.
Original languageEnglish
Article number328
Number of pages13
JournalBMC Psychiatry
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2016 The Author(s). Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Keywords

  • eating disorders
  • quality of life

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