Qualitative Study of the Impact of Relationships With Other Patients During Inpatient Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa

AIMS: We aimed to interview people who had received inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa, to explore their perspectives on the impact their interactions with other patients during their admission had on their recovery, including short term and longer term effects. METHODS: We recruited people who had experienced inpatient admission for treatment of anorexia nervosa, and who had been recovered from anorexia nervosa for at least 12 months. We conducted semi-structured, one-to-one interviews, with nine individuals specifically exploring the helpful and unhelpful aspects of peer relationships during inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: We interviewed nine individuals. Five themes were indentified: comparison and justification, learnt unhelpful behaviours, dealing with distress, new-found compassion, and role-modelling. All participants expressed conflicting feelings about their relationships with peers, but generally described more resilience in resisting negative effects as they got closer to recovery. Positive effects, such a new-found compassion, appeared to hold significance long term in participants’ ‘recovered’ lives. CONCLUSION: The detailed exploration of themes in this study provides a deeper understanding of the complex nature of peer relationships amongst people experiencing inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa. This could aid clinical decision making when choosing appropriate treatment settings for individual patients as well as informing clinical practice in inpatient units.