Christian women, anorexia and theological responses (1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Christian Women, Anorexia and Theological Responses
IRAS ID
169011
Contact name
Deryn Guest
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 9 days
Research summary
Initial studies in the US into the link between Christian faith and anorexia nervosa suggest that the prevalence of anorexia amongst Christian women is much higher than in the general population. This hypothesis is further supported by anecdotal evidence of professionals.
This study has a twofold purpose. First: to further investigate whether Christian faith could be a risk factor for developing anorexia nervosa and to gain insights into the lived experience of Christian women suffering from anorexia nervosa. Second: to gather feedback from patients on the spiritual care they have received with an ultimate aim of improving spiritual and pastoral care for women with anorexia nervosa.
The study will be carried out via fieldwork on the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Eating Disorders Unit by a researcher from the University of Birmingham working in conjunction with the Trust’s multi-faith chaplaincy team. There will be two parts to the study, and patients will be able to choose whether they participate in either, both or none of the study. The first part is a semi-structured interview with a researcher exploring how Christian teachings have been translated onto women’s views of their own bodies. The intention is to recruit twelve female patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (including any sub-type of) for this part of the study. The second part will be a feedback questionnaire and group discussion about the work the chaplaincy team are undertaking in a spirituality group. Both the group discussion and individual interviews will be recorded by Dictaphone with the consent of participants.
In the future this research has the potential to develop the currently limited understanding of the connections between Christian faith and anorexia, and will provide information to enable chaplaincy teams to provide the best possible spiritual care to patients.REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0090
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion