Adverse Childhood Experiences and Disordered Eating in the Military

Abstract

Over the last two decades, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers have increasingly acknowledged the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; Felitti et al., 1998) on adult health outcomes. Although the prevalence of disordered eating in military populations has been acknowledged in the literature, little seems to be known about its connection to childhood adversity. This dissertation explores the interplay between ACEs, disordered eating, protective factors, and health outcomes. A better understanding of these relationships is essential to develop policies, as well as clinical, research, and training practices that can effectively attend to the needs of military Service members. This dissertation includes a systematic review of research with military populations that attends to the relationship between childhood adversity and disordered eating, and presents the methodology and results from a survey distributed internationally to 135 active duty Service members. This dissertation concludes with recommendations for integrating key findings into existing screening, treatment, and prevention practices.