Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

There is a lack of research examining eating disorders (ED) and substance use in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This is surprising given the symptomatic overlap between EDs and IBD, and the associations between EDs and substance use (Kuznicki Neubauer, 2021). Directionality of IBD and EDs is unclear and may be bidirectional, but IBD onset and highest risk for substance use both occur in young adulthood with ED onset also occurring around or just before this developmental stage (Johnston Logan, 2008; Rangel Paniz et al., 2021; Plevinsky, et al., 2019).The proposed study aims to explore the presence and impact of disordered eating and substance use in young adults with IBD, using a mixed-methods design. The first objective will be to examine the role of biopsychosocial predictors of disordered eating and substance use in young adults with IBD in a large survey. The second objective will be to examine young adults perspectives on how IBD has impacted their relationship with food and substance use through qualitative interviews.Approximately 160 young adults (aged 18-24) with IBD will complete an online survey examining study variable (e.g., disordered eating, substance use, disease activity).15% of the sample (chosen through a random number list) will be invited for a semi-structured consisting of open-ended questions exploring their relationships with food and substance use in relation to their disease activity. Data will be analyzed using multiple regressions for the quantitative portion and the qualitative interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun Clarke, 2006).