Publication Date

2012

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department

School for Social Work

Keywords

Anorexia nervosa patients' writings, Anorexia nervosa-Patients-Blogs, Blogs-Psychological aspects, Anorexia nervosa-Treatment, Anorexia nervosa, Anorexia, Eating disorders, Blogging, Online support, Internet, Stages of change, Eating disorder recovery

Abstract

This exploratory, mixed-methods study sought to understand how individuals at various stages of change in the recovery process from Anorexia Nervosa (AN) use blogging. The study also aimed to discover why these individuals begin blogging and the impact of this activity on the recovery process. A total of 13 participants were included in the sample for this study. An internet survey measured bloggers' stage of change using the Anorexia Nervosa Stage of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ). Additionally, the survey contained open-ended, qualitative questions eliciting bloggers' reasons for beginning to blog, as well as how they perceived the influence of blogging on their recovery process. The study also included a content analysis of these individuals' blog posts to measure the presence and frequency of a number of elements, including the purpose of posts, themes in written content, photographs, and comments. The findings of this study provide the first exploration of the characteristics of AN recovery blogs and how bloggers appear to be using this medium. Findings show significant differences in blog content depending on bloggers' stage of change. Bloggers also tend to present themselves at a higher stage of change on their blogs than through an anonymous survey. Bloggers unanimously perceive blogging as having a positive influence on recovery, though bloggers in earlier stages of change are more likely to also note negative aspects of the activity. Implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed.

Language

English

Comments

iv, 78 p. Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2012. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-63)

Limited Access until August 2017

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