An exploration of social functioning and school reintegration in eating disorder recovery

Abstract

Eating disorders can have a profound impact on physical and psychological wellbeing. These disorders have also been described as isolating and have a negative impact on an individual’s ability to engage with their social environment. Historically, recovery has focused on physical health and weight restoration. However, more recent definitions of recovery have emphasised the importance of social aspects of functioning, including engagement with others and reintegration to social contexts, including work and school. Chapter 1 provides background and rationale for this research project and some considerations around epistemology, reflexivity and ethics. Chapter 2 is a systematic review and thematic synthesis of the qualitative literature exploring individual’s experiences of social functioning in recovery from an eating disorder. This review highlighted three key challenges people with eating disorders face with regards to their social functioning focused on the practical restrictions of treatment, interpersonal difficulties and difficulties with social skills. Despite these challenges, the importance of interpersonal connection and the benefits of engaging with others for recovery were highlighted. However, there are a number of methodological issues discussed, including that thematic synthesis was predominantly carried out by one researcher. Chapter 3 is an empirical study focusing on school reintegration, one social context for people in eating disorder recovery. 16 participants, aged 16 to 28 years, were interviewed about their experience of reintegrating to school within the last 10 years following a period of absence for treatment of an eating disorder. Three key themes were generated through reflective thematic analysis. School reintegration was viewed as part of the process of recovery and the findings highlighted that while reintegration can be a challenging experience, it can also offer important opportunities for facilitating progress with recovery. There were limitations around the diversity of the sample, thus these findings must be considered in context.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Rebecca Gardner: orcid.org/0009-0003-5674-9483

ORCID for Katy Sivyer: orcid.org/0000-0003-4349-0102

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