A preliminary examination of the relationship between compulsive exercise and shame in individuals with an eating disorder: and clinical research portfolio

Objective: To explore the relationship between compulsive exercise and shame in a clinical sample of eating disorder patients. Method: In a cross-sectional study, individuals with an eating disorder (n=21) completed self-report measures of compulsive exercise, internal shame, external shame, bodily shame, anxiety and depression. Results: Internal shame was moderately associated with compulsive exercise (r=.496, p<.05). No further variables were significantly related to compulsive exercise. Individuals with Anorexia-Nervosa and Bulimia-Nervosa did not significantly differ on any of the study variables. Discussion: Hypotheses regarding the possible nature of the relationship between compulsive exercise and shame are suggested. For instance, that compulsive exercise may serve a role in the regulation of internal shame. That compulsive exercise may act as a compensatory behaviour and be a consequence of high levels of shame. Or that internal shame may result as a response to negative perceptions of one’s exercise habits. The results are discussed in line with current literature.

Evangelical young women, contemporary Christianity, and an empowering self- understanding: a study into how contemporary women of faith understand themselves and God in relation to Dei, Holy Scripture and Christian mission

This thesis combines historical reflection with qualitative research to examine how Christian young women from Evangelical traditions are developing religious self- understanding in empowering ways. It seeks to establish connections between the ways in which historians and feminist theologians have responded to forces of restriction and limitation in Christian women’s past, and the strategies of self-empowerment adopted by Evangelical young women today. This study approaches Christian history and the present condition of female self-understanding through three central questions: How do young women understand themselves in relation to the imago Dei? How do young women understand themselves in relation to the Bible? How do young women understand themselves in relation to Christian mission? The first chapter addresses the ways in which young women are responding to historic denials of woman as the imago Dei and concepts of female inferiority or especial guilt by reclaiming possession of the divine image. The next section discusses how young women are relating to the Bible in empowering ways, both by adopting similar strategies to those utilised throughout Christianity’s past, and through the development of their own patterns of interpretation. Finally, this thesis draws attention to Christian mission as a space of empowerment, examining how young women develop life-enriching knowledge of God and self through involvement with mission. This thesis proposes that as young women continue to develop strategies that enable them to understand themselves and their faith in empowering ways, knowledge of their innate dignity and potential will inspire them — and those who come after them — to witness to God freely and fully in all contexts.