Presentation Title
Achieving Anorexia: An Improbable but Possible Aspiration Among College-Age Students
Abstract
My research examines the extent and degree to which undergraduate students engage with pro-ana websites, whether this engagement leads to internalization of pro-ana messages, and whether internalization mediates a hypothesized relationship between engagement in pro-ana communities, eating disorder symptoms, and positive attitudes toward anorexia nervosa (AN) and/or AN-associated thinness. This research will also examine the extent to which pro-ana related behaviors and attitudes correlate with demographic variables, body satisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Through this research, I hope to also touch upon whether the presence of the low body-weight criterium for AN in the DSM-V may play a role in eating disorder development, maintenance, and issues with recovery.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Antonio Cepeda-Benito
Graduate Student Mentors
Thomas Geist, Emily Pomichter
Faculty/Staff Collaborators
Dr. Antonio Cepeda-Benito (Thesis Advisor), Thomas Geist (Graduate Student Mentor), Emily Pomichter (Graduate Student Mentor)
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Psychological Science
Primary Research Category
Social Sciences
Secondary Research Category
Health Sciences
Tertiary Research Category
Arts & Humanities
Achieving Anorexia: An Improbable but Possible Aspiration Among College-Age Students
My research examines the extent and degree to which undergraduate students engage with pro-ana websites, whether this engagement leads to internalization of pro-ana messages, and whether internalization mediates a hypothesized relationship between engagement in pro-ana communities, eating disorder symptoms, and positive attitudes toward anorexia nervosa (AN) and/or AN-associated thinness. This research will also examine the extent to which pro-ana related behaviors and attitudes correlate with demographic variables, body satisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Through this research, I hope to also touch upon whether the presence of the low body-weight criterium for AN in the DSM-V may play a role in eating disorder development, maintenance, and issues with recovery.