Journal article
Two identical twin pairs discordant for longstanding anorexia nervosa and OSFED: lived experience accounts of eating disorder and recovery processes
Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-26
2024
PMCID: PMC11367789
PMID: 39223672
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Research into the risk of anorexia nervosa (AN) has examined twin pairs to further the understanding of the contributions of genetics, trait inheritance, and environmental factors to eating disorder (ED) development. Investigations of twin experiences of EDs have been biologically-based and have not considered the qualitative, phenomenological aspects of twin experiences. A gap in the literature exists regarding understanding of discordant twins with EDs. This research was developed in response, with the aim to deepen understanding of AN in discordant twins and to create novel ideas for further research and testing. The case studies presented in this article provide lived experience insights of two identical discordant twin pairs: one twin pair discordant for longstanding AN and one twin pair discordant for ‘atypical’ AN (the twin with AN has recovered). The perspectives and experiences of each co-twin (one with AN and one without) explore a number of factors that may have contributed to twin discordance in these cases, and how each twin has responded to the impact of AN in their lives. Through use of first-person accounts in case study presentation, this article centres social justice values of lived experience leadership and involvement in research. This article aims to extend current knowledge and understanding of EDs in discordant twins, particularly regarding risk for ED development, ED duration, diagnosis and treatment, and recovery processes.
Details
- Title
- Two identical twin pairs discordant for longstanding anorexia nervosa and OSFED: lived experience accounts of eating disorder and recovery processes
- Authors
- Rosiel Elwyn (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteMarie Williams (Author)Eloise Smith (Author)Sophie Smith (Author)
- Publication details
- Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-26
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40337-024-01078-w
- ISSN
- 2050-2974
- PMID
- 39223672; PMC11367789
- 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 information and materials for these case studies are contained in this manuscript. There are no additional supporting data or materials.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991057998902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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