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Eating Disorders in ‘Millennials’: Risk Factors and Treatment Strategies in the Digital Age

  • Cassandra LenzaEmail author
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Social media applications, known colloquially as “apps,” have quickly impacted the lives of young adults. There is evidence to support that suicide risk and social media use are correlated, which is of particular concern for individuals who struggle with body image, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders. These populations are already at a higher-risk for self-injurious behaviors and thoughts of suicide. In the treatment of eating disorders among emerging adults, known as Millennials, clinicians can feel disconnected to their clients when discussing and intervening in these new socialization structures that demand “perfection”. Understanding this population and its unique subset of challenges is essential in the digital age. This paper will explore common risk factors that precipitate eating disorder symptomology among this cohort, as well as offer a new perspective on treating the emerging adult population utilizing a values-based approach derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Keywords

Eating disorders Millennials Young adults Adolescent psychology Social media Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ACT 
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Notes

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of interest

Author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.New York UniversityNew YorkUSA

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