Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Reports of patients who have recovered from anorexia nervosa show that they can perceive a supportive partner as "the driving force" behind their recovery. However, very little is known about the experiences of these couples and the challenges they face. Such knowledge is necessary to develop empirically-informed interventions for couples living with anorexia. The few existing studies have shown that such couples struggle with communication, openness, and intimacy. These studies, however, focused mostly on the perspective on the partner with anorexia. Studies also show women with anorexia and their partners differ in their perceptions of their relationships, suggesting that in order to fully understand these experiences, both partners need to be given a voice. The purpose of this study is to examine, from the perspective of the couple, the experience of a relationship in which one partner has anorexia. This will be achieved by asking the following research questions: 1. What is the role of a romantic relationship in coping with anorexia? 2. What is the experience of anorexia in the relationship? 3. What is the style of communicating about anorexia among partners? This study will use the Action-Project Method, which was created to explore behaviour, internal experiences and their meaning in dyads. Partners will engage in a conversation about research topics both with the researcher and among each other. These conversations will be videotaped and analyzed to find overarching themes and communication patterns. The results of this study can be used to inform the development of interventions that target the specific needs of couples living with anorexia.