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Help-seeking for body image problems among adolescents with eating disorders: findings from the EveryBODY study

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known regarding correlates of help-seeking for a body image problem in adolescents with an eating disorder. This study provides the first population-based investigation of help-seeking correlates among adolescents with an eating disorder.

Methods

Australian adolescents (N = 1002, 75.5% female, mean age = 15.14, SD = 1.40) who met operational diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder completed a survey assessing help-seeking, and potential correlates of help-seeking (sex, age, body mass index, socio-economic status, migrant status, sexuality, eating disorder diagnosis, psychological distress, and quality of life).

Results

Only 10.1% of participants reported having sought help. Bivariate analyses revealed that increased likelihood of help-seeking was associated with female sex, sexual minority status, being born outside Australia, older age, having a major eating disorder (compared to having an unspecified or other specified feeding or other eating disorder diagnosis), higher psychological distress, and reduced psychological and social functioning. Older age, being born outside of Australia, and having a major eating disorder were significant independent correlates of help-seeking.

Conclusions

Very few adolescents with an eating disorder seek help for a body image problem. Promoting early, appropriate help-seeking among those who are younger and/or those with less well-known disorders may be particularly important.

Level of Evidence

Level III, case-control analytic study.

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Data sharing

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical constraints, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AN:

Anorexia nervosa

BN:

Bulimia nervosa

BED:

Binge-eating disorder

AAN:

Atypical anorexia nervosa

sBN:

Subthreshold-bulimia nervosa

sBED:

Subthreshold-binge eating disorder

PD:

Purging disorder

NES:

Night eating syndrome

OSFED:

Other specified feeding and eating disorder

UFED:

Unspecified feeding and eating disorder

DSM:

Diagnostic and statistical manual

BMI:

Body mass index

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Acknowledgements

Scott Griffiths is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (Grant No. 1121538). Stuart Murray receives royalties from Oxford University Press and Routledge publishers.

Funding

This work was supported by a Macquarie University Research Fellowship (DM) and a Society for Mental Health Research Project Grant (DM).

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Correspondence to Scott J. Fatt.

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Conflict of interest

Professor Hay receives/has received sessional fees and lecture fees from the Australian Medical Council, Therapeutic Guidelines publication, and New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry and royalties/honoraria from Hogrefe and Huber, McGraw Hill Education, and Blackwell Scientific Publications, Biomed Central and PlosMedicine and she has received research grants from the NHMRC and ARC. She is Deputy Chair of the National Eating Disorders Collaboration Steering Committee in Australia (2012–) and Member of the ICD-11 Working Group for Eating Disorders (2012–) and was Chair Clinical Practice Guidelines Project Working Group (Eating Disorders) of RANZCP (2012–2015). She has consulted for and prepared a report under contract for Shire Pharmaceuticals in regards to Binge Eating Disorder (July 2017). All views in this paper are her own.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee: 5201918887701) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all adolescents participating in the study. A passive consent procedure was used for parents, wherein parents/guardians could opt to have their adolescent not participate, prior to the study’s commencement.

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Fatt, S.J., Mond, J., Bussey, K. et al. Help-seeking for body image problems among adolescents with eating disorders: findings from the EveryBODY study. Eat Weight Disord 25, 1267–1275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00759-9

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