Abstract
Objective: Being a parent with an eating disorder (ED) creates unique challenges e.g., child feeding, transmission fears, parent responsibilities, and low self-efficacy. Despite significant concerns, there is limited evidence regarding healthcare support for parents with ED, and limited understanding of the protective factors and mechanisms that help parents with ED to cope and manage these unique challenges. This qualitative study aimed to explore parents with ED experiences of mental health services and their coping mechanisms. Method: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with six mothers with lived experiences of ED. Open-ended questionnaires were further completed by 34 parents who reported a history of ED. The interview transcripts and open-ended questionnaires were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were constructed from the data: The complexity of coping, self-discovery through parenting and striving for support. Discussion: These themes highlighted the resilience of parents with ED, providing important insight into how parents with ED have adapted to the challenges of parenting and managed their ED, despite the unique challenges highlighted for this population. The inclusion of an open-ended questionnaire was found to be an appropriate method to allow greater participation through increased accessibility for parents with ED and has been recommended for future research. The researcher proposed future support for parents with ED should adopt a strength-based approach which draws on their resilience, coping resources, and identity as a parent to aid ED recovery.