@article{ref1,
title="Digital self-harm is associated with disordered eating behaviors in adults",
journal="Eating and weight disorders - studies on anorexia, bulimia and obesity",
year="2022",
author="Lydecker, Janet A. and Grilo, Carlos M. and Hamilton, Antonia and Barnes, Rachel D.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="PURPOSE: Eating-disorder psychopathology is associated with self-harm behaviors. With much time spent and many social interactions taking place online, self-cyberbullying has emerged as a new form of self-harm that is digital. The current study examined digital self-harm in adults and its associations with eating-disorder psychopathology and behaviors. <br><br>METHODS: Participants were adults (N = 1794) who completed an online cross-sectional survey. Participants reported whether they had ever posted mean things about themselves online, whether they had ever anonymously bullied themselves online and completed measures of eating-disorder psychopathology and disordered eating behaviors. <br><br>RESULTS: Digital self-harm was reported by adults across demographic characteristics and across the lifespan, although there were some significant differences in demographic characteristics associated with reported digital self-harm. Participants who engaged in digital self-harm were younger than those denying digital self-harm. Eating-disorder psychopathology and disordered eating behaviors were significantly higher among individuals reporting digital self-harm compared with age-matched controls. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This was the first study to examine digital self-harm among adults and the first study to examine associations of digital self-harm with eating-disorder psychopathology and disordered eating behaviors. Importantly, digital self-harm is reported by adults and therefore is not limited to youth. Our findings that digital self-harm is associated with disordered eating suggests that digital self-harm is a clinically significant topic that needs further research to inform clinical practice and clinical research. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-controlled analytic studies.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1124-4909",
doi="10.1007/s40519-021-01355-6",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40519-021-01355-6"
}