Too close or too separate: Family function in families with an anorexia nervosa patient in two Nordic countries

Abstract

Previous research has shown that families with an anorexia nervosa patient are not a homogenous group. The purpose of this study was to see in what way these families differ from each other. Forty-nine families with a child suffering from anorexia nervosa were examined. They were rated by independent observers who, on the basis of a videotaped family task, evaluated family interaction using Beavers-Timberlawn's rating schedule. Family members completed the self-report questionnaires Family Climate, FARS and SCL-90. The subscale family style from the Beavers-Timberlawn schedule was found to provide a meaningful description of families with an anorexia nervosa patient. According to this subscale, anorexia nervosa families fall into three groups: centripetal, centrifugal and balanced. The centrifugal group differed from the two other groups in that the patients expressed more psychopathology and family dysfunction. This group of families probably requires a special form of treatment.