The Role of Social Rank in the Experience of an Anorexic Voice
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Relevance of Social Rank Theory in Anorexia Nervosa and the Experience of an Anorexic ‘Voice’
IRAS ID
319919
Contact name
Joanna Mitchell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Development Department
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research has found that a notable proportion of people with anorexia nervosa (AN) hear an inner anorexic ‘voice’ (AV) which may comment on their appearance, weight, and shape, and may tell them to behave in certain ways such as eating less food or exercising excessively. This AV is associated with negative outcomes, including more severe eating disorder symptoms. People with AN have also been identified to have lower perceived social rank (SR; their beliefs about their position in terms of power, attractiveness and fit with people around them) compared to the general population. In other populations, such as people with psychosis, low perceived social rank helps to explain why some people are more distressed by voices than others. It is not known why only some people with AN hear a voice, so this will be explored in our study. We are interested in whether an individuals perceived SR could help to explain the presence of an AV. We are also interested in whether someone’s perceived SR is related to the perceived power of their AV, and whether this leads to more severe eating disorder symptoms. If SR helps us to understand the AV experience, it could help to inform specific aspects of AV therapies and identify suitable candidates, perhaps reducing the duration and intensity of distress associated with hearing an AV. We will be recruiting adults with AN from Oxfordshire Eating Disorder Services and the general population. Eligibility will be determined by a cut-off score on a gold standard eating disorder symptom measure. We will compare AV hearers and non-hearers. Participants will be asked to complete online questionnaires assessing eating disorder, SR, and depression domains. They will be asked to repeat the eating disorder voice questionnaire one month later so that we can assess the stability of the AV experience.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
23/WA/0118
Date of REC Opinion
27 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion