A comparison of the eating disorder service experiences of autistic and non-autistic women in the UK

Babb, Charli ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5416-640X, Brede, Janina, Jones, Catherine R.G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0541-0431, Serpell, Lucy, Mandy, Will and Fox, John R.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3039-8024 2022. A comparison of the eating disorder service experiences of autistic and non-autistic women in the UK. European Eating Disorders Review 30 (5) , pp. 616-627. 10.1002/erv.2930

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Abstract

Objective Qualitative studies report that autistic women have poor experiences when being treated for an eating disorder (ED) and express that ED services are not appropriately tailored to meet their needs. It is unclear whether their experience differs to other women accessing ED services. The aim of the current study was to compare autistic and non-autistic women's ED illness history and experiences in ED services. Method An online survey about ED illness history and their experience with ED treatment was completed by 46 autistic women with a restrictive ED and 110 non-autistic women with a restrictive ED. Results Despite some similarities, there were three key differences in the experiences reported by autistic and non-autistic women. First, autistic women reported a longer duration of ED and being diagnosed with an ED at a younger age than non-autistic women. Second, autistic women reported accessing a broader range of healthcare settings and ED treatments than non-autistic women when being treated for an ED. Finally, autistic women rated their experiences of inpatient care, dietetic input, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as significantly less beneficial than non-autistic women when being treated for an ED. Conclusion These findings increase understanding of autistic women's ED experience and can help to shape ED services and treatments to better accommodate the needs of their autistic clients.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1072-4133
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 June 2022
Date of Acceptance:	28 May 2022
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2023 17:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/150735

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