Living with a young person with an ED: The sibling experience
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Living with a young person with an eating disorder: The sibling experience.
IRAS ID
237120
Contact name
Leanne Havard
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Eating disorders (EDs) are life-threatening conditions (Svensson et al., 2013) which most commonly occur during adolescence (Kjelas et al., 2004). The complex presentation of an ED often means that it can be extremely difficult for family members to cope (Honey & Halse, 2006) and they often find themselves restructuring and reorganizing themselves as a result (Eisler, 2005; Treasure et al., 2008). In line with government directives highlighting the needs of carers (Department of Health, 1995; 2004), and in response to our understanding of the importance of the family’s role in the recovery from an ED (Cottee-Lane et al., 2004), there has been a growing research interest in this area.\n\nHowever, whilst our understanding of the parental experience has grown, the sibling experience is often overlooked and under-researched (Dimitropoulos et al., 2009; Fox et al., 2015). Siblings are recognized as integral members of the family and a major source of support to the young person with an ED (Bachner-Melman, 2005; Lock et al., 2001). During adolescence, these siblings are also likely to be trying to manage their own developmental needs and stressors, simultaneously to taking on more responsibility for caring for their unwell sibling (Garley & Johnson, 1994).\n\nThe current research aims to build upon our limited knowledge of the sibling experience by interviewing adolescents who have a brother or sister with an ED. Furthermore, once themes have been gathered from the interview data, participants will be asked to rank these themes in order (Q-sort task) of importance. This will help us to understand what aspects of the experience hold the strongest psychological significance to the siblings and can provide a window into how services can best support them through this process.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0003
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion