Knowledge and Myths about Eating Disorders in a German Adolescent Sample: A Preliminary Investigation

Johannes Feldhege; Sally Bilic; Kathina Ali; Daniel B Fassnacht; Markus Moessner; Louise M Farrer; Kathleen M Griffiths; Stephanie Bauer

doi:10.3390/ijerph19116861

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Knowledge and Myths about Eating Disorders in a German Adolescent Sample: A Preliminary Investigation

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Knowledge and Myths about Eating Disorders in a German Adolescent Sample: A Preliminary Investigation

Johannes Feldhege, Sally Bilic, Kathina Ali, Daniel B Fassnacht, Markus Moessner, Louise M Farrer, Kathleen M Griffiths and Stephanie Bauer

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.19(11), pp.1-9

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116861

PMID: 35682445

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Abstract

help-seeking

eating disorder

stigma

eating disorder literacy

mental health literacy

Eating disorder mental health literacy (ED-MHL) refers to knowledge about the symptoms, causes, and treatment of eating disorders (EDs) and is an important factor in people's attitudes towards individuals with EDs and help-seeking for EDs. Associations between ED-MHL, stigma, ED symptomatology, and gender were investigated in a sample of N = 194 German high school students. Knowledge and myths about EDs were assessed with 18 factual statements about EDs and agreement/disagreement with common myths about ED. Students also completed the Universal Stigma Scale (USS), the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS), and demographic items. Students judged M = 8.39 (SD = 3.40) statements correctly, while the average agreement with all ED myths was low (M = 0.19, SD = 0.14). Greater ED-MHL was associated with lower stigmatization of EDs. Male participants were less knowledgeable and more likely to agree with the ED myths. Participants displayed moderate ED-MHL; however, certain aspects such as ED risk factors or symptoms of specific disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were less well known. These results can inform the design of future MHL interventions for adolescents.

Details

Title: Knowledge and Myths about Eating Disorders in a German Adolescent Sample: A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Johannes Feldhege (Corresponding Author) - University Hospital Heidelberg
Sally Bilic (Author) - University Hospital Heidelberg
Kathina Ali (Author) - Flinders University
Daniel B Fassnacht (Author) - Flinders University
Markus Moessner (Author) - University Hospital Heidelberg
Louise M Farrer (Author) - Australian National University
Kathleen M Griffiths (Author) - Australian National University
Stephanie Bauer (Author) - University Hospital Heidelberg
Publication details: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.19(11), pp.1-9
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2022
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116861
ISSN: 1660-4601
PMID: 35682445
Copyright note: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Grant note: 57219975 / German Academic Exchange Service
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99726818902621
Output Type: Journal article

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