School Environment Perceptions of the Young Women with Anorexia: Biographical Reconstruction

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is the restrictive eating disorder and women are at the highest risk of its development in their teens. Although existing Western scientific literature provides some information on this condition among schoolers, there is the lack of qualitative descriptions that may shed light on the actual experiences and assumptions about the school environment which get girls with anorexia, who continue their education in school or finished it in non-Western countries. In this paper, to show how girls with anorexia perceive school environment I examine 50 in-depth biographical interviews with women who have been diagnosed with anorexia from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan (aged between 14–25 years old). These interviews were combined with the collection of ego networks, using concentric circles methodology, and analysis of unsolicited online diaries belonging to these girls. The data was harvested in the Summer-Autumn of 2020. First, the data analysis revealed four meanings that anorexia has for women in connection with schooling: anorexia as a distraction from education, anti-stress remedy, hobby, and part of a general perfectionist orientation. Second, the data demonstrated the roles of teachers and classmates in the entire system of social connections that the girls with anorexia have, and their importance for the development of the girls’ views on food and body image. Findings suggest that although schools emphasize perfectionism, academic achievements, and disciplinary culture, the school’s role in the life of girls with anorexia is greatly determined by parental attitudes towards education.