TY - JOUR
T1 - Stigma of eating disorders and recovery-related outcomes
T2 - A systematic review
AU - Foran, Aoife Marie
AU - O'Donnell, Aisling T.
AU - Muldoon, Orla T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Objective: People with eating disorders (EDs) tend to engage in behaviours that are ordinarily perceived as normal in society, such as restrictive dieting. However, when people are diagnosed with an ED, they may often feel stigmatized, which is likely to act as a barrier to recovery. To date, there is a limited understanding of how stigma of EDs impacts recovery-related outcomes. Method: A systematic search was performed using PsychINFO and PubMed. Multiple combined searches of terms relating to stigma, EDs, and recovery-related outcomes were conducted. PRISMA guidelines were followed throughout the selection process and resulted in nine studies meeting specific inclusion criteria. The extracted data are examined in a critical narrative synthesis. Results: Our review suggested that across different samples and measures, stigmatization of EDs is negatively related to a range of factors important for recovery. These include psychological, social and physical health outcomes, ED psychopathology and treatment-seeking behaviours. Conclusions: Based on the quality assessment, it was concluded that future research would benefit from the use of research designs that can demonstrate causality and generalize findings across community samples. Therefore, in order to improve recovery-related outcomes, treatment plans must consider the type of ED stigma experienced and its relation with specific recovery-related outcomes.
AB - Objective: People with eating disorders (EDs) tend to engage in behaviours that are ordinarily perceived as normal in society, such as restrictive dieting. However, when people are diagnosed with an ED, they may often feel stigmatized, which is likely to act as a barrier to recovery. To date, there is a limited understanding of how stigma of EDs impacts recovery-related outcomes. Method: A systematic search was performed using PsychINFO and PubMed. Multiple combined searches of terms relating to stigma, EDs, and recovery-related outcomes were conducted. PRISMA guidelines were followed throughout the selection process and resulted in nine studies meeting specific inclusion criteria. The extracted data are examined in a critical narrative synthesis. Results: Our review suggested that across different samples and measures, stigmatization of EDs is negatively related to a range of factors important for recovery. These include psychological, social and physical health outcomes, ED psychopathology and treatment-seeking behaviours. Conclusions: Based on the quality assessment, it was concluded that future research would benefit from the use of research designs that can demonstrate causality and generalize findings across community samples. Therefore, in order to improve recovery-related outcomes, treatment plans must consider the type of ED stigma experienced and its relation with specific recovery-related outcomes.
KW - eating disorders
KW - recovery-related outcomes
KW - stigma
KW - systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082338190&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/erv.2735
DO - 10.1002/erv.2735
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32219911
AN - SCOPUS:85082338190
SN - 1072-4133
VL - 28
SP - 385
EP - 397
JO - European Eating Disorders Review
JF - European Eating Disorders Review
IS - 4
ER -