Files and links (1)
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Neurodivergence, intersectionality, and eating disorders: a lived experience-led narrative review
Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-29
2024
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Autistic people and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are at a high risk of developing an eating disorder. While there is limited evidence on the relationship between other forms of neurodivergence and eating disorders, research suggests associations between giftedness, intellectual disability, obsessive–compulsive disorder, psychosis, Tourette’s syndrome, and disordered eating. Factors underlying disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk for neurodivergent people are multifaceted and complex, encompassing a wide range of intertwined psychosocial, environmental, and biological processes. Moreover, research shows that neurodivergent individuals experience poorer treatment outcomes compared to neurotypical individuals. However, there is a paucity of research in this area overall. More specifically, lived experience-led research remains rare, despite its critical role for improving individualised eating disorder care, as well as mental healthcare more broadly. Indeed, the importance of eating disorder care individuation is increasingly being recognised, particularly within the context of neurodivergence, given the heterogeneous experiences and support needs of neurodivergent people affected by disordered eating and/or eating disorders. Furthermore, despite documented overlaps between various forms of neurodivergence (e.g., co-occurring autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), research looking at eating disorders in the context of neurodivergence through a transdiagnostic perspective is scarce. This lived experience-led narrative review aims to shed light on the intersectional factors underlying elevated disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk for neurodivergent individuals. First, an overview of prevalence data is provided, followed by a thematic framework identifying factors underlying disordered eating and/or eating disorder risk in relation to neurodivergence. A critical appraisal of current eating disorder research and care is then offered before suggestions for neurodiversity-affirming eating disorder care are made. In this view, this paper offers a foundation for future empirical work in this nascent field of inquiry by providing a lived experience-led, transdiagnostic, and intersectional account of eating disorders in the context of neurodivergence.
Details
- Title
- Neurodivergence, intersectionality, and eating disorders: a lived experience-led narrative review
- Authors
- Laurence Cobbaert (Corresponding Author) - UNSW SydneyAnna Rose Millichamp - Bond UniversityRosiel Elwyn - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteScout Silverstein - Equip HealthKai Schweizer - The University of Western AustraliaElysia Thomas - Eating Disorders Neurodiversity Australia - (EDNA)Jane Miskovic-Wheatley - The University of Sydney
- Publication details
- Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-29
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40337-024-01126-5
- ISSN
- 2050-2974
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Nursing; Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991080798902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
4 File views/ downloads
28 Record Views