Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Eating disorders have profound impacts on both individuals and families, including severe, lasting distress and strained familial relationships. These disorders carry the highest mortality among mental illnesses. While only a small proportion of Canadian young adults are diagnosed with eating disorders, a significant number suffer from sub-clinical eating distress. Despite strides toward improving care for individuals with eating disorders, treatment continues to prove ineffective for up to half of those who seek it. Barriers to treatment may exist for those who do not fit the stereotypical presentation of eating disorders. As critical feminist scholars have revealed, the possibility of recovery may remain closed for individuals of different ethnicities, body sizes, genders, and socioeconomic statuses. Recovery itself is a highly contested topic, defined in different ways by communities of sufferers, medical professionals, and families. In this research, I explore the intersection between definitions and prescriptions for recovery, exploring the context faced by individuals with eating disorders. I focus in particular on the family context, asking how families understand possibilities, processes and outcomes of eating disorder recovery. I aim to make room for the voices of sufferers and their families as we move toward more desirable, supportive, and effective health care for these individuals, recognizing that health care decisions involve a complex interplay of individual, familial and societal dynamics. To add depth to the knowledge about eating disorders that we have gained through quantitative research, I will use a qualitative, art-based approach. Participants will create digital stories (short, multimedia films), which place these individuals in the role of experts on their own experiences. Stories will be shared with healthcare professionals, broadening the conversation around eating disorders and recovery by engaging with both individuals and families.