Family Roles in Siblings of People Diagnosed with an Eating Disorder
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Family Roles, Help-seeking and Coping Styles of Siblings of people diagnosed with an Eating Disorder
IRAS ID
298255
Contact name
Philippa Balfour
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Integrity and Governance, University of Southampton,
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 12 days
Research summary
This study aims to explore the mental health of individuals who have a sibling with an Eating Disorder, specifically looking at the role they take in the family, how they seek help and cope with difficulties. Eating Disorders (ED) including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED) are becoming more common with around 1.25 million people suffering from an ED in the UK (Beat Eating Disorders, 2020). Based on the existing research it is unclear how the roles an ED sibling plays within the family may differ from individuals who do not have a sibling with an eating disorder or from those who have a sibling with another diagnosed mental health condition. To the best of our knowledge no study has explored how these roles may be related to psychological distress, help-seeking attitudes and intentions and coping styles. Exploring these gaps in the literature can help clinicians working with families to identify those siblings who may be more likely to experience psychological distress and have difficulties seeking help. We are recruiting participants, between the ages 16-25 years, who have a sibling with a diagnosed ED (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other specified feeding and eating disorder) or those who have a sibling with another diagnosed mental health condition or those who have a sibling with no diagnosed mental health condition. Participants will also be a UK resident with their main place of residence being the family home. Participants will complete a series of self-report measures on an online research platform (Qualtrics), which will take approximately 15-20minutes.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0125
Date of REC Opinion
14 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion