[Characteristics of families of women with restricting anorexia nervosa compared with families of normal probands]

Abstract

This study compares families of women with restricting anorexia nervosa with families of women without any psychiatric history on the following variables: parents' eating problems (Eating Attitudes Test: EAT-26) and psychopathology (Symptom Checklist-90-R: SCL-90-R); family members' perceptions of the parent-daughter relationship (Parental Bonding Instrument: PBI) and the family's overall functioning (Self-Report Family Inventory: SFI). Twenty-eight young women suffering from restricting anorexia nervosa, 27 non-clinical women and their respective parents, completed these questionnaires and also participated in a semi-structured individual interview. Our results demonstrated that parents in the two groups had similar eating attitudes and behaviors. However, parents of women with anorexia nervosa reported more problems with alcohol consumption than non-clinical parents. There were no differences between the two groups on the measure of family functioning (SFI), all scores in the families of anorectics being within normal limits. All the daughters, however, reported less family cohesion and more family conflict than did their parents. On the PBI, all the daughters reported receiving more care from their mothers than their fathers; the anorectic women reported experiencing more maternal control, intrusiveness and overprotection. The relationship between each family member's perception of family functioning and the parent-daughter relationship was examined. Anorectic daughters associate the emotional health of their family with the care received from both parents, whereas control women associate this variable with their father's attitudes and behaviors. However, fathers from both groups do not consider their own care or protection as having contributed to the health of the family.