Effectiveness of Remote Family Education and Support Program for Parents of Adolescents With Eating Disorders Based on Interpersonal Psychotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: Given the frequent conflict between parents and adolescents with eating disorders, we aimed to develop a remote family education and support program (rFESP) for parents based on the principles of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and investigate its effect on promoting effective communication at home. Method: A clinical trial involving 67 parents of patients with adolescent eating disorders was conducted. Participants were randomly assigned to either the rFESP intervention group or the waiting control group. The intervention group received four rFESP sessions of 150 min each, conducted weekly over 4 weeks. Specifically, the primary outcome was the change in parents' active listening ability, as measured by the Active Listening Attitude Scale, while the secondary outcome was the change in the perception of social support and eating disorder symptoms evaluated by parents. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted. Results: A statistically significant effect of rFESP was found on the Active Listening Attitude Scale at 8 weeks (mean difference: 3.68, 95% confidence interval: 1.89–5.48, p < 0.001). Similarly, the intervention group scored higher with regard to perceived social support (difference = 2.69, 95% confidence interval: 1.11–4.27, p < 0.001). No significant differences were found in eating disorder symptoms. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effectiveness of an IPT-based program for parents of adolescents with eating disorders. These findings suggest that this type of intervention is effective, albeit indirect, and could be a new support method for adolescent patients and their parents. Trial Registration: Clinical Trials.gov ID: NCT05840614.