Perceptions of Social Support and Eating Disorder Characteristics

Abstract

Poor social support is a risk factor for the development of eating disorders (Ghaderi, 2003). We designed this study to investigate the relationship between social support and eating disorder symptomatology among a female, nonclinical population. The work is of international interest because disordered eating behavior is common across many nations. The results of this research should help build a better understanding of the links between social support and participants at risk of developing an eating disorder. In this study, family support was not correlated with disordered eating, but satisfaction with social support was.