Why Do People Engage in Eating Disorder Behaviours?
type: CreativeWork
description: Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses often with poor prognosis. Personalizing evidence-based treatments based on an individual’s reasons for engaging in ED behaviours – or the functions of EDs – may improve treatment outcomes; however, no validated measures assessing these functions exist. The goal of this study was to complete the initial steps in developing a measure of ED functions. Individuals who engage in ED behaviours (n = 16) and clinicians who treat EDs (n = 14) were interviewed, and a thematic analysis was conducted to determine key functions of EDs. Four main functions of EDs were identified: 1) alleviating shape, weight, and eating concerns, 2) regulating emotions, 3) regulating one’s self-concept/ maladaptive schemas, and 4) regulating interpersonal relationships/ communicating with others. Self-report items were developed based on these themes to create a 102-item measure of ED functions that will be further developed and validated in future research.
abstract: Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses often with poor prognosis. Personalizing evidence-based treatments based on an individual’s reasons for engaging in ED behaviours – or the functions of EDs – may improve treatment outcomes; however, no validated measures assessing these functions exist. The goal of this study was to complete the initial steps in developing a measure of ED functions. Individuals who engage in ED behaviours (n = 16) and clinicians who treat EDs (n = 14) were interviewed, and a thematic analysis was conducted to determine key functions of EDs. Four main functions of EDs were identified: 1) alleviating shape, weight, and eating concerns, 2) regulating emotions, 3) regulating one’s self-concept/ maladaptive schemas, and 4) regulating interpersonal relationships/ communicating with others. Self-report items were developed based on these themes to create a 102-item measure of ED functions that will be further developed and validated in future research.
author: Kinnear, Abbigail
language: en_ca
keywords: Eating disorders, functions, reasons, binge eating, restricting, purging
date published: 2021-07-15
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:56:09Z
provider: Western University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Western Ontario

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/31191