UCT&DE:NCoD, Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding Childhood Trauma and Disordered Eating: A Novel Conceptualisation of Distress
IRAS ID
295434
Contact name
Helen Sharpe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary:
Currently, eating disorders are diagnosed based on people’s symptoms. However, considering individuals past experiences (not just symptoms) may be useful for how they understand their difficulties and also for helping healthcare professionals plan what type of treatments may support their recovery. This study aims to understand whether individuals with disordered eating think it is helpful to consider their distress in different way to diagnosis through considering past events that may have happened to them such as childhood trauma. This will help to evaluate a new way of thinking about psychological distress in eating disorders.This study will use a survey design which will be entirely online. The survey will last around 30 minutes and involve questions about participants eating behaviour and attitudes, past experience of childhood trauma and coping strategies. Within the survey, participants will also watch an informational video about a new way of thinking about psychological distress and answer some questions about their thoughts on the video.
We aim to recruit a community and NHS sample. This will be done by advertising our study through relevant social media sites and eating disorder websites and via flyers within NHS Lothian eating disorder inpatient and outpatient clinics. We will ask colleagues within these clinics to share flyers with potential participants that meet inclusion criteria. These colleagues will be unable to refer participants into this study to maintain participants confidentiality. To take part in our study, participants must have experience of disordered eating, be 18 years or over and have a level of English sufficient to read and answer survey questions. This study is for fulfilment of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology within the University of Edinburgh, who is the sponsor.
Lay summary of study results:
Developmental Interpersonal Trauma Disorder suggests that having experience of childhood trauma may create vulnerabilities to experiencing distress in later life. This is because experience of childhood trauma is thought to impair 6 our development, causing issues in our ability to control our emotions, gain positive relationships and learn effective ways to cope with distress. As disordered eating is thought to be linked to childhood trauma, it is important to know whether this new way of thinking about distress is thought to be relevant and helpful to them. This study recruited 152 individuals with disordered eating who were asked to complete an online survey about their past experiences and their thoughts about the new way of thinking about distress, after they watched an online video explaining more about it. Results showed that individuals who had past experience of childhood trauma were more likely to find this new concept relevant to them. Individuals who had restrictive disordered eating, such as anorexia nervosa, and who had potential markers of Developmental Interpersonal Trauma Disorder, were more likely to rate the new concept helpful to them. No other individuals felt the concept was relevant or helpful to them. This may be because individuals with disordered eating struggle to recognise their own needs due to the negative impact of past childhood trauma. Results suggested that individuals with disordered eating may have a different way to understand and explain their distress than thinking about childhood trauma. However, further research is needed to fully understand this.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/YH/0282
Date of REC Opinion
19 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion