Eating disorders (EDs) are psychiatric illnesses involving impaired eating and feeding behaviours. The ‘social identity approach’ suggests that social affiliation provides the basis for individuals ‘social identity’. During major life transitions, changes in social circles forces individuals to re-evaluate their social identities, causing significant stress. Therefore, the transition to university may present a unique risk for ED development in vulnerable individuals lacking a strong social network. Peer support interventions for university students struggling with EDs have been proposed to help develop a sense of community, in turn providing the basis for developing stronger social identity, and potentially reducing ED symptoms (Foran et al., 2021).
Foran et al. investigated the correlation between social supports, identity, and ED symptoms in first year university students. Participants were asked about their perceived strength of social affiliation, social support, and the strength at which their social circle endorsed and practiced ED attitudes. Participants also reported the frequency and type ED behaviours they engaged in.
It was determined that lower levels of ED symptoms directly correlated with strong social identity only when participants social group did not strongly endorse ED attitudes. Surprisingly, results showed that strength of social identity alone did not correlate with strength of ED symptoms directly, demonstrating that group beliefs more strongly influenced the development and maintenance of ED behaviours. Therefore, Foran et al. concluded that peer support interventions alone are not sufficient to reduce ED symptoms if the group not endorse symptom reduction and recovery.
Read the article: https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-021-00399-4
Open access
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