School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Psychol Psychother. 2022 Dec;95(4):1018-1035. doi: 10.1111/papt.12416. Epub 2022 Jul 27.
Many individuals diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN) describe their disorder as being represented by an internal 'anorexic voice' (AV). Previous studies have identified associations between eating psychopathology and multifarious forms of adverse life experiences.
This study explores the relationship between adverse experiences in childhood and the development of the AV.
Twelve women who had the experience of the AV in the context of a diagnosis of AN took part in semi-structured interviews. The interview data were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory methodology.
Participants recalled feeling unsafe in a variety of relationships and a theory was constructed in which the AV provides a sense of conditional safety, becoming increasingly hostile and belittling when it is disobeyed, revealing similar characteristics to abusers and bullies in childhood.
Findings are related to the broader literature on the link between trauma and eating disorders, and to existing theories of internal voices.
The findings have implications for a trauma-focused approach when working with the AV.
许多被诊断患有神经性厌食症（AN）的个体将其病症描述为内部“厌食声音”（AV）的表现。先前的研究已经确定了饮食病理学与各种形式的不良生活经历之间的关联。
本研究探讨了童年时期的不良经历与 AV 发展之间的关系。
12 名被诊断为 AN 的女性在 AV 背景下经历了该研究，她们参与了半结构化访谈。使用建构主义扎根理论方法对访谈数据进行分析。
参与者回忆说在各种关系中感到不安全，构建了一个理论，其中 AV 提供了有条件的安全感，当它被违反时，它会变得越来越敌对和贬低，这揭示了与童年时期的施虐者和欺凌者相似的特征。
研究结果与创伤和饮食障碍之间的更广泛文献以及内部声音的现有理论有关。
研究结果对针对 AV 的创伤聚焦方法具有启示意义。
