Retrospective assessment of subjective experiences of women diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa in adolescence: A qualitative study

The aim of the study is to gain in-depth knowledge about what puberty - growing up, sexual maturation and becoming a woman - means for women diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. In line with this aim, the attitudes, thoughts and feelings of women who were diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa in adolescence, and are currently healthy, toward adolescence prior to their diagnoses were examined. The research data were obtained through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with the participants (n=17). In accordance with the grounded theory methodology in the research, interviews with new participants were continued until different categories did not emerge, that is, until the saturation point was reached, and the analysis of the interviews was carried out through the MAXQDA 2020 program. Throughout the analysis, constant comparison and thick description methods were used. As a result of the data analysis, 5 themes were identified: i) Changing body and social body, ii) Adulthood versus childhood or lost paradise, iii) The restricted gender femininity and rejection of femininity, iv) Loss, destruction and uncertainty of social ties, v) Ambivalent attitude towards AN. The themes obtained in the discussion were evaluated in the light of psychoanalytic theory and neurobiological findings. Keywords Anorexia Nervosa, adolescence, sexuality, development, growing, femininity