Narratives of males with eating disorders

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Date
2004-08-30Author
Ashuk, Ryan M.
Type
ThesisDegree Level
MastersMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
For years, eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, have been studied extensively among adolescent girls and young women. However, despite recent research revealing a significant percentage of men display behaviours related to eating disorders, their individual experiences remain relatively unstudied. Additionally, given the reality that many males usually conceal or deny having the disorder, few studies yielding in-depth accounts of their lived experiences have also not been completed. This study, however, examined, through narrative inquiry, the experiences of two young adult males who were medically diagnosed with and treated, or were presently being treated, for disordered eating. Though each was not impervious to societal and familial pressures to look and be perfect, such pressures, tragically, were exacerbated by the pronounced fear, and actual experience, of being stigmatized by helping professionals. These findings provide a preliminary understanding of the threat that disordered eating poses for males, irrespective of background and lifestyle. Aside from having implications for theory, these findings are also expected to contribute in ways that will help to inform the practices of counsellors and therapists in the field of psychology.
Degree
Master of Education (M.Ed.)Department
Educational Psychology and Special EducationProgram
Educational Psychology and Special EducationSupervisor
Pawlovich, WaltCommittee
Schwean, Vicki L.; Robinson, Sam; Nicol, Jennifer A. J.; Wickett, R. E. Y. (Reg)Copyright Date
August 2004Subject
Males
Narratives
Eating Disorders