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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Dec;44(8):731-4.
doi: 10.1002/eat.20877. Epub 2010 Nov 10.

Parental expressed emotion of adolescents with anorexia nervosa: outcome in family-based treatment

Daniel Le Grange  1 , Renee Rienecke Hoste, James Lock, Susan W Bryson
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Parental expressed emotion of adolescents with anorexia nervosa: outcome in family-based treatment

Daniel Le Grange et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between expressed emotion (EE) and outcome in family-based treatment (FBT) for anorexia nervosa (AN).

Method: Eighty-six adolescents with AN participated in an RCT comparing two doses of FBT. Seventy-nine of these patients and their parents participated in a structured interview, from which EE ratings were made at baseline. Parents were compared on five subscales of EE as well as overall level of EE (high vs. low).

Results: Overall EE levels were low with 32.9% of families presenting as High EE at baseline. Ratings of baseline warmth for both mothers (p = .014) and fathers (p = .037) were related to good outcome at end-of-treatment.

Discussion: EE in parents of adolescents with AN is remarkably low. Notwithstanding, parental warmth may be a predictor of good outcome.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of EE subscales among Parents
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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