“Not all my fault”: Genetics, stigma, and personal responsibility for women with eating disorders

► Presents semi-structured interviews with 50 women who have a history of eating disorders (recovered and in treatment). ► Most expected genetic causal attribution to reduce stigma, mainly by alleviating personal responsibility for the disorder (volitional stigma). ► A third suggested ways that genetic causal attribution could increase stigma, usually by oversimplifying eating disorders. ► At least half of respondents wanted to retain some degree of personal responsibility, despite its stigmatizing potential. ► This study is the first to examine how people with eating disorders interpret genetic causal attribution.