title: Perceptions of illness in individuals with anorexia nervosa: a comparison with lay men and women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study examined and compared perceptions of illness in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) and lay men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants with AN (n = 95) completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Lay participants (n = 80) completed a modified IPQ-R to elicit perceptions of AN.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants with AN viewed their illness as chronic and highly distressing, with strong negative consequences. They had fairly negative perceptions of illness controllability and curability, which contrasted with the more optimistic beliefs held by lay participants. Both groups implicated emotional and psychological causes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The profile of illness perceptions expressed by the AN sample is associated with poor mental health and functioning and may inform the treatment approach. Lay perceptions of AN differed in the conceptualization of AN as a "slimming disease" amenable to change. This discrepancy may contribute to the stigmatization of AN.
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom. j.holliday@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treasure
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D011379:Prognosis; D012649:Self Concept