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Who Knows Best? Family Interaction and Eating Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Glenn Waller ,
Peter Slade  and
Rachel Calam
Glenn Waller
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Peter Slade
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
Rachel Calam
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
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Abstract

Links have been established between eating disorders and abnormal patterns of interaction between members of the sufferer's family. Faced with often contradictory information, the clinician needs to know which member of the family will give the most valid description of that family's interaction. This study demonstrated the value of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) as a measure of ‘pathology’ in the families of anorectic and bulimic women. Using the ability to predict the eating disorder as an index of concurrent validity, the sufferers themselves had the most realistic perceptions of their families' interactional styles.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 4 , April 1990 , pp. 546 - 550
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

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