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The families of anorexia nervosa and cystic fibrosis patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

C. Blair ,
C. Freeman  and
A. Cull
C. Blair*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
C. Freeman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
A. Cull
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Caroline Blair, Department of Psychiatry. University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EHI0 5HF.
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Synopsis

The objective of the study was to determine whether the families of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients were more dysfunctional than those of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and well controls. Data were collected from self-report questionnaires, from an interview rated for Expressed Emotion (EE) and from direct observation of a family problem solving task which was rated for evidence of Minuchin's ‘psychosomatic family’ dimensions. A total of 87 families participated. Most self-report measures of family functioning did not distinguish between groups. There were no differences in levels of EE criticism. AN and CF households showed more EE emotional over-involvement than did the well households. Over-involvement correlated with illness severity. More households in the AN group were enmeshed, over-protective and poor at problem solving than in the CF and well groups. Minuchin's conceptualization of the anorexia nervosa family was partly supported.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 5 , September 1995 , pp. 985 - 993
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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