Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The main objective of this study is to determine whether specific types of self-esteem are related to higher levels of social anxiety in an adolescent female eating disorder population, as well as to identify if specific diagnoses of eating disorders or age groups have higher levels of social anxiety or lower self-esteem. If a specific type of self-esteem corresponds with higher levels of social anxiety, therapy can be targeted to that specific area to try to decrease social anxiety in patients. Since social anxiety has been shown to have high comorbidity in eating disorder patients, this research is particularly relevant to our studied population, especially if we are able to identify specific at-risk groups. Furthermore, this study will add to the descriptive research on eating disorders in an adolescent population, a much needed line of research as the effects of factors specific to this age group may play an important role in the development of an eating disorder.