Family Perception of Interpersonal Behavior as a Predictor in Eating Disorders: A Prospective, Six-Year Followup Study

This study assessed family perception patterns of interpersonal behavior in families with a daughter diagnosed with an eating disorder 6 years after treatment that used a prospective design. Family perception patterns of patients found to have a poor outcome at followup (n = 15) were compared with p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family process 2000-09, Vol.39 (3), p.359-374
Main Authors: Herzog, Wolfgang, Kronmüller, Klaus-Thomas, Hartmann, Mechthild, Bergmann, Günther, Kröger, Friedebert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-sectional studies
Eating behavior disorders
Eating disorders
Families & family life
Family - psychology
Family environment. Family history
Family relationships
Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology
Feeding and Eating Disorders - etiology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Followup studies
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Longitudinal studies
Male
Medical prognosis
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Patients
Perceptions
Prognosis
Prospective Studies
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Time Factors
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Summary:This study assessed family perception patterns of interpersonal behavior in families with a daughter diagnosed with an eating disorder 6 years after treatment that used a prospective design. Family perception patterns of patients found to have a poor outcome at followup (n = 15) were compared with patients with a good outcome (n =23), as well as a control group (n =36). Using the system of multiple level observation of groups (SYMLOG), all 238 family members evaluated themselves and each other. The index patients with a poor outcome perceived themselves as friendlier and more positive than they were perceived by their families. In comparison to parents of daughters with a good outcome and the control group, parents of daughters in the poor outcome group perceived themselves to be less friendly than their partners perceived them to be. A rigid polarization of the perception of the index patient by family members and a discrepancy in this perception between the index patient and the rest of the family were found to be indicative of a poor prognosis. Implications for treatment based on family perception patterns of interpersonal behavior are discussed.
ISSN:0014-7370
1545-5300
DOI:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2000.39307.x