“Anorexia Doesn’t Exist When You’re Latina”: Family, Culture, and Gendered Expectations in Eating Disorder Recovery

Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) have one of the highest mortality rates among mental illnesses and are a significant public health issue for Latinx populations. As both risk and protective factors are heavily shaped by cultural norms, more research is needed to better capture the unique influence Latinx culture has on not only the development of clinically significant EDs but also on the recovery process and the resumption of normalized food and weightrelated cognitions and behaviors. The present study aimed to bridge that gap by examining the lived experiences of Latina/Hispanic women in EDrecovery through a photo-elicitation method. Seventeen Latina/Hispanic women (Mage = 21.12, range 18−25) with a prior history of an ED and in self-defined ED recovery shared photographs and discussed their meaning in hour-long semistructured interviews. Three themes were extracted from the interviews (mental health stigma, family as support, and gendered expectations) using thematic analysis. Results highlight the nuanced role of Latinx/Hispanic culture in ED recovery, the powerful role of the family in promoting positive recovery outcomes once barriers related to stigma and understanding are overcome, and the detrimental effect of Latinx/Hispanic beauty standards on women’s self-image as they recover. This research provides additional empirical support underscoring the importance of the interplay between culture and context in promoting positive recovery outcomes.