Understanding stigma in the context of help-seeking for eating disorders

Prudence L. Wall; Daniel B. Fassnacht; Esme Fabry; Anne E. O’Shea; Catherine Houlihan; Kate Mulgrew; Kathina Ali

doi:10.1186/s40337-024-01086-w

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Understanding stigma in the context of help-seeking for eating disorders

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Understanding stigma in the context of help-seeking for eating disorders

Prudence L. Wall, Daniel B. Fassnacht, Esme Fabry, Anne E. O’Shea, Catherine Houlihan, Kate Mulgrew and Kathina Ali

Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-13

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-024-01086-w

Appears in UniSC Diversity and Inclusion Research Collection

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Abstract

stigma

shame

eating disorders

help-seeking

barriers

early intervention

treatment

UniSC Diversity Area - Disability and Inclusion

Background Stigma is a complex construct and its association with help-seeking among those experiencing eating disorders is not well understood. Rates of help-seeking are low for those with eating disorder symptoms and, therefore, determining the role of stigma and shame in this relationship is needed to help inform effective awareness campaigns aimed at improving prognostic outcomes. The current study examined the associations between perceived stigma, self-stigma, shame, and help-seeking behaviour in a community sample of individuals with elevated eating disorder symptoms. Methods Participants completed an online survey that included measures of stigma and shame as perceived barriers to help-seeking for individuals with eating disorders. Those with elevated eating disorder symptoms and high clinical impairment were included in the study (N = 333). Results Using binary logistic regression models controlling for age and gender, results showed that perceived stigma, self-stigma, and shame predicted 64% of help-seeking behaviour (p = .005). The only significant unique predictor of formal help-seeking was “Being concerned that other people believe eating disorders are not real illnesses”. No other stigma or shame items were found to significantly predict help-seeking. Conclusions The present findings suggest that while stigma plays an important role in help-seeking, it might not be the primary reason preventing individuals with eating disorders from accessing care. The field is encouraged to investigate these factors to promote help-seeking effectively.

Details

Title: Understanding stigma in the context of help-seeking for eating disorders
Authors: Prudence L. Wall (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Daniel B. Fassnacht (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Esme Fabry (Author) - Flinders University
Anne E. O’Shea (Author) - Flinders University
Catherine Houlihan (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Kate Mulgrew (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Kathina Ali (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
Publication details: Journal of Eating Disorders, Vol.12, pp.1-13
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1186/s40337-024-01086-w
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: Data can be made available from the authors upon request.
Organisation Unit: Graduate Research School; Cancer Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991061398502621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Nutrition & Dietetics; Psychiatry; Psychology, Clinical

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