Koski
Page 4
groups included in this study (Polivy and Federoff 1997). Lay individuals with personal eating
disorder experience facilitated the remaining groups. Groups met either weekly or bi-weekly,
meetings lasting approximately 90 to 120 minutes. Participation varies from meeting to meeting.
New participants are common. Some quickly become regulars while others make only a single
appearance. At the same time, each group boasts a constituency of core members. The ratio of
core members to new members varies across groups.
Participants include both those with anorexic and bulimic symptoms, as well as
compulsive eaters, binge eaters, and those with eating disorders not otherwise specified. The
majority of participants exhibit sub-clinical disordered eating (Sabik and Tylka 2006). Many
previously met diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder but have since stabilized. Others may
have never met the diagnostic criteria but nonetheless experience the oppression resultant from
an obsession with food, diet, and exercise. For participants, the distinction between clinical and
sub-clinical cases is irrelevant. White women account for the majority of participants. I only
encountered three male participants. Only one proved a consistent attendee, but he did not
actively participate. Using participants’ dress, language, and comportment as a guide (Irvine
1999), the majority of participants are roughly middle class. The groups are fraught with
teenagers and young adults. Equally plentiful, however, are older women, ranging from early
thirties through fifties, both single and married, childless and mothers.
Immediately after each meeting, I wrote extensive field notes detailing the themes
discussed. In writing my field notes, I removed my theoretical lens and included as full an
account as possible, so as to allow for alternate hypotheses. Full field notes enabled inductive
coding, as is consistent with the grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1967). In
presenting the data, I have attempted to incorporate elements of narrative research. Categorical
analysis is key in building theory, but also bears the risk of disembodying data from its context
(Conrad 1990). In an effort to remain true to participants, I employ long excerpts from my field
notes.
The Eating Disorder as a Strategic Device
Having provided the necessary background, I will now proceed to offer examples of how
eating disorder support group participants come to trust their experience, learn to employ the
eating disorder as a strategic narrative device in challenging relationships, and affirm the value
Convention