Stephanie McAlinden

Stephanie Úna McAlinden, MSc
PhD Student
Queen’s University Belfast

Focus area of your practical/ clinical work/ research

The stigma of eating disorders and how to change attitudes of young people with respect to them

Publications/ Projects/ Activities

Committee member of Eating Disorders Association Northern Ireland,

Motivation/ Inspiration/ Mission

Having experienced an eating disorder myself, I have first-hand experience of how difficult living with one is and how it continues to impact your life. I pursued a PhD on the stigma of eating disorders, in the hopes that my research may help enhance the quality of life for other sufferers by improving adolescents’ understanding of the subject and increasing empathy towards people with them. Body image is a subject that is raised consistently in the qualitative research I conduct with the adolescent population, particularly the rise of social media technologies. I therefore am interested in learning more about how body and new technologies impact the adolescent population, and whether or not it translates into disorder eating behavior.

Contact details

E-Mail: smcalinden05@qub.ac.uk

Twitter: @stephiemca on Twitter