Level of family involvement as a predictor of outcome in eating disorder patients with and without provisional PTSD during residential treatment

Abstract

Objective: Family involvement (FI) in the treatment of eating disorders (EDs) is critical for children/adolescents, yet its role during residential treatment (RT) in adults is uncharted. PTSD may play a role in influencing FI but is also unexplored.

Method: We examined the role of FI in 2786 ED patients (89% F) admitted to RT with and without provisional PTSD. At discharge, staff rated the degree of FI as follows: 1) Not at all; 2) Slightly/somewhat; 3) Very much/extremely. Changes in ED, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and quality of life measures from admission to discharge were examined via multivariate analyses of covariance using degree of FI as an independent variable and age, gender, admission BMI, age of ED onset, and baseline symptom levels as covariates.

Results: Patients with the highest FI were the youngest, had the lowest BMIs and the oldest ages of ED onset. Rates of provisional PTSD were greatest in individuals with no FI and least in those with the highest FI. Those with no FI did significantly worse on all measures than those with higher levels of FI.

Conclusion: FI is an important component in ED treatment of adults in RT and is especially needed in patients with PTSD.