Impact of the quality of pastoral care on the incidence of eating disorder symptoms in schools
Impact of the quality of pastoral care on the incidence of eating disorder symptoms in schools

Summary/Abstract: Peak age for eating disorder (ED) onset is 10-19years; therefore schools are well-positioned to promote prevention and support at-risk individuals. However, to date, little is known about the possible role that school-based pastoral support might provide in this context. This study aimed to investigate whether students’ ED pathology differed depending on the quality of school-based pastoral care. Four hundred and twenty-five participants from five UK schools (52% female; n =221) aged 16-19 (M=17.14, SD=0.76) completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire and the Health of the Nations Outcomes Scale for Children and Adolescents. A rating system was applied to rate each school’s pastoral care quality, operationalised as available student support, staff training/knowledge regarding EDs and ED-related school policies. Pastoral care quality had a significant, medium-sized impact on ED symptom prevalence (ηp²=.06), with higher quality care resulting in lower ED symptomatology. Additionally, overall wellbeing was also higher in schools with better quality pastoral care (ηp² =0.05). High quality pastoral care may be a useful tool in fighting disordered eating in adolescents.

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