ArticleJournal of eating disorders2021
"Putting your own oxygen mask on first": a qualitative study of siblings of adults with anorexia or bulimia.
Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Family member's perceived impact of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa on family dynamics: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.Cadernos de saude publica · 2026Pooled it
- A qualitative meta-analysis on the lived experience of siblings of persons with mental illness.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Distress, burden, and wellbeing in siblings of people with mental illness: a mixed studies systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Experiences with family relationships following eating disorders: a roller coaster of emotions.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- "Balancing within a closed family system": a grounded theory study of how family life is affected by having a family member with an eating disorder.Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
- Experiences of eating difficulties in siblings of people with anorexia nervosa: a reflexive thematic analysis.Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
- Parental-Bonding and Alexithymia in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa, Their Parents, and Siblings.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Multiple perspectives and dialogue in understanding experiences of living with eating disorders: Two narratives-four unpackings.Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn families where one of the siblings has an eating disorder (ED), research indicates that the siblings without eating disorders (EDs) experience insufficient care and negative changes in family life. The illness then takes up a great deal of space within the family. Support from the siblings without EDs is considered to be important for the recovery of the sibling with ED. A key issue is how to involve siblings without EDs in treatment and establish what kind of support they themselves need. A majority of the research on EDs and family has focused on children and adolescents with EDs. The aim of this study is to expand knowledge about the experiences and coping strategies of sisters and brothers of adult women with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
methodsThis qualitative study used a constructivist grounded theory approach. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 sisters and brothers (aged 20-31 years). They were recruited from eating disorders and general psychiatrics units and from user organisations for patients with eating disorders within Norway. An iterative process of data collection, coding and analysis was employed in order to generate a theory about these participants' experiences and strategies.
resultsThe core category is "put your own oxygen mask on first". It indicates that the siblings realize that they need to take care of themselves first, in order to be able to stay involved with their sister with the ED. The three subcategories; "taking a new role", "distancing" and "adapted care" describe how the siblings handle their situation as the relatives of adult sisters with an ED. The siblings without ED became more responsible and independent and assumed a caregiving role. They downplayed their own needs to reduce their parents' burden. This new role became difficult to fulfil and the siblings experienced that over time they needed more distance. Eventually, they developed a more manageable way of caring for their sister.
conclusionsThe findings suggest that the ED challenged the boundaries within the family. The siblings without ED assumed a caregiver role, gradually leading to exhaustion and the need to distance from the sister with the ED, to take care of themselves.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.