Pro-Anorexia Facebook Groups with Dr. Stacey Daughters

A recent article on Newsweek.com discusses a troubling trend; the emergence of pro-anorexia groups on the expansive social networking site Facebook. According to the article, the groups, consisting of mostly young women, offer advice on the “extreme diet tips” and post “pictures of emaciated girls under headlines such as ‘thinspiration.”

What makes these groups different (and more troubling) is that unlike the anonymous Web site groups of the past, participants are much more open about their identity on Facebook. The article recounts the experience of Rose, a Maryland high school student who was active in these groups for two years.

"These sites provided a setting where I could talk about the illness without people trying to fix me or tell me that what I'm doing is horrible, disgusting, maladaptive," she says. "For me, part of the illness was just about getting attention. You feel so lonely and you want someone to notice you, and I guess that's kind of the way to do it, even with other sick people."

For more on this trend, the Healthy Turtle talked with Dr. Stacey Daughters, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Community Health and an expert in adolescent health and risk behavior.

Healthy Turtle: Are you concerned that pro-anorexia groups on Facebook would encourage more young people to become anorexic?

Dr. Stacey Daughters: Although it’s possible that pro-anorexia groups on Facebook will encourage more young people to become anorexic, these sites pose a greater risk for encouraging individuals who are already suffering from sub threshold symptoms or a full eating disorder diagnosis to maintain or increase the severity of their current behavior. This would occur through increased positive reinforcement from other individuals with an eating disorder.

Individuals who don’t currently meet criteria for an eating disorder, but suffer from low self esteem or poor body image may also be at risk for picking up “tips” from these sites for losing weight, which can develop into an eating disorder. Although this risk exists, I believe the more dangerous outcome is the negative effect on individuals who currently have the disease.

HT: Do you think social networking sites like Facebook present specific problems that other Web sites do not?

Dr. Daughters: Because people have accessible profiles on Facebook, members of these groups are able to contact one another and engage in conversations beyond those posted for the rest of the group to see. This makes a site like Facebook more intimate and personable, which can also lead to less censoring of potentially harmful information and/or advice.

The design of Facebook is easy to navigate, thereby increasing its popularity and the number of people within each group. Finally, having the ability to place a real name to a face, as is possible on Facebook, individuals may feel a greater sense of social affiliation, further strengthening the reinforcement of current eating disordered behavior.

HT: What are risk factors for young people developing eating disorders? Are there "warning signs" for friends and family to be aware of?

Dr. Daughters: Research has shown that some of the risk factors associated with developing eating disorders, specifically anorexia, are increased rates of negative affectivity, family discord, higher parental demands, higher need for control/organization, and higher levels of perfectionism. In particular, an increased level of perfectionism is one of the most robust findings among those with eating disorders. Certain warning signs for anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders include low body weight, a fear of gaining weight, increased social isolation, amenorrhea (absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles), binge eating, purging, and obsessive exercise habits.

The article focuses entirely on young women, but do you know of any studies or information about young men and eating disorders?

Although research on eating disorders has predominately focused on females, evidence indicates that men are also at risk for these problems. Lifetime prevalence rates for males with anorexia and bulimia were 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, compared to 0.9% and 1.5% for females (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007).

There are a few ways that males with eating disorders differ from females with eating disorders. As discussed by Andersen (1999), females may complain about their weight in terms of pounds or clothing size or their body shape from the waist down (e.g., thighs, hips, buttocks), whereas males typically report body dissatisfaction from the waist up, particularly chest and arms.

Males tend to strive for less fat and greater muscle definition, given that they are socialized to believe muscular men are more masculine and attractive than less muscular men. As such, men are more likely to suffer from reverse anorexia nervosa or muscle dysmorphia, where he is preoccupied with the idea that his body can be leaner or more muscular.

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Read the article about Pro-Anorexia Facebook groups on their site here. Thanks to Dr. Stacey Daughters for her time in putting this feature together; for more information about her work, visit her Web site.