Self-Harm in Eating Disorders (SHINE): a mixed-methods exploratory study

Introduction: Self-harm is highly prevalent among young people with eating disorders. However, why a young person may develop and continue to experience both an eating disorder and self-harm is unclear. This study will investigate the frequency, intensity, duration, function, context and processes of self-harm among people aged 16-25 diagnosed with an eating disorder. It will explore participants' perspectives on the genesis and functions of both their self-harm and eating disorder, as well as their support needs. The study was designed with the input of members of a Young Persons' Advisory Group, who will be key to study delivery and dissemination. Methods and analysis: This exploratory study has a sequential mixed-methods explanatory design. Between 70 and 100 young people aged 16-25 with both an eating disorder diagnosis and self-harm thoughts and/or behaviours will be recruited from three NHS Eating Disorder outpatient services in England. Phase 1: a 14-day (six prompts per day) ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of participants' feelings, thoughts, motivations, behaviours and experiences of self-harm. Phase 2: 20-30 participants from phase 1 will be reapproached to take part in an in-depth qualitative interview on the psychological, emotional and social factors that underlie their self-harm and eating disorder as well as their support needs. EMA data from phase 1 will be analysed using descriptive and multilevel statistics. Qualitative interview data from phase 2 will be analysed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results from both phases will be integrated using a mixed-methods matrix, with each participant's data from both phases compared alongside comparative analysis of the datasets as a whole.

Citation

Lavis, A., McNeil, S., Bould, H., Winston, A., Reid, K., Easter, C. L., Pendrous, R., & Michail, M. (2022). Self-Harm in Eating Disorders (SHINE): a mixed-methods exploratory study. BMJ open, 12(7), e065065. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065065

DOI

10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065065

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14709/605

Usage rights

CC BY 4.0

License

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/