The internal “eating disorder voice" and childhood trauma.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The internal “eating disorder voice" and experiences of childhood trauma: Do dissociation and schizotypy play a role?
IRAS ID
186963
Contact name
Matthew Pugh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NOCLOR NHS Research Support
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
A significant proportion of eating disorder sufferers experience a critical-internal voice (often termed the eating disorder or anorectic "voice"). Cognitive models of auditory hallucinations appear applicable to eating pathology and offer further hypotheses as to how the critical-internal voices may maintain disordered eating.
Whilst previous research indicates that individuals with anorexia nervosa experience powerful critical-internal voices, which they frequently refer to as the “anorectic” voice, and which appears to be linked to the severity of eating pathology, it is unclear whether these findings can be generalised across eating disorder subtypes. Addressing this question forms part one of this study.
Traumatic experiences share robust links with voice hearing in psychosis, and this association appears to be influenced by levels of dissociation and schizotypal beliefs. Accordingly trauma, dissociation and schizotypy may represent a similar risk factor for voice hearing in eating disorders. The second part of this study will explore whether critical-internal voices are associated with experiences of childhood trauma in eating disorders, and establish whether this relationship is mediated by dissociative and schizotypal variables.
Summary
This small-scale questionnaire-based study aims to elaborate how the internal "eating disorder voice" interacts with eating pathology and why such experiences tend to emerge in eating disorders. Should the "eating disorder voice" be shown to interact with eating pathology in this first phase of the study, a second phase will explore whether voice characteristics influence response to individual therapy. It is is hoped that this study will enhance current understandings of eating pathology and, in the longer-term, encourage the development of more effective treatments for this client group.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0060
Date of REC Opinion
18 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion