The Importance of Considering Personal Recovery for Eating Disorders

Andrew Allen; Maddison Tunstall; Catherine Houlihan; Kay Pozzebon; Daniel B. Fassnacht; Kathina Ali

doi:10.1002/erv.70116

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The Importance of Considering Personal Recovery for Eating Disorders

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The Importance of Considering Personal Recovery for Eating Disorders

Andrew Allen, Maddison Tunstall, Catherine Houlihan, Kay Pozzebon, Daniel B. Fassnacht and Kathina Ali

European Eating Disorders Review, Vol.Advanced access

21-Apr-2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.70116

PMID: 42013906

Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs

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Abstract

clinical recovery

clinical remission

eating disorders

personal recovery

sexual identity

Objective Definitions of recovery from eating disorders (EDs) have traditionally emphasised symptom reduction and functional restoration. However, growing research highlights the importance of integrating personal recovery, defined by self-acceptance, autonomy, and psychological wellbeing. This study explored the relationship between partial clinical remission and personal recovery in individuals with lived experience of an ED. Method A total of 234 participants (N = 234; Mage = 28.10; 89.3% female; 49.6% non-heterosexual) were recruited online and completed measures assessing ED symptom severity, quality of life, and personal recovery. Criteria for partial clinical remission were based on established cut-offs for measures of ED symptomology. Personal recovery was defined by self-endorsement of a validated recovery framework. Results Chi-square tests revealed that rates of personal recovery (52.1%) were significantly higher than rates of partial clinical remission (22.6%). While clinical remission increased the likelihood of personal recovery (OR = 6.46), many participants endorsed personal recovery despite not meeting clinical criteria. No significant differences in personal recovery were found between ED types or between heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants as an exploratory analysis. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of incorporating personal recovery constructs into ED assessment, treatment, and outcome monitoring.

Details

Title: The Importance of Considering Personal Recovery for Eating Disorders
Authors: Andrew Allen (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Maddison Tunstall - University of the Sunshine Coast
Catherine Houlihan - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kay Pozzebon - University of the Sunshine Coast
Daniel B. Fassnacht - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kathina Ali - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: European Eating Disorders Review, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/erv.70116
ISSN: 1099-0968
PMID: 42013906
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). European Eating Disorders Review published by Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Organisation Unit: Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991224870902621
Output Type: Journal article

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