Eating Disorders and Family
Eating Disorders and the Family Environment
Ashley Gallagher (210331007) SWOK 2035 Professor Lackstrom Section A - Fall Term Final Essay December 1st, 2012
Eating disorders are considered to be psychosomatic illnesses that can impair both overall health and psychosocial functioning of individuals, primarily in females although the occurrence of eating disorders in males is becoming more frequent. Eating disorders and the analysis of family relationships and interactions is a popular topic. Many studies have viewed how the family environment affects the individual with disordered eating habits, although it is essential to also analyze specific relationships between specific family members and the individual with the eating disorder within the family. Family dynamics are complicated to grasp; currently the modern family varies across a diverse scope of differences incorporating the popular occurrence of blended families and many other issues that can arise in present day society. Factor analysis is frequently used to view transactional patterns within the family environment involving an eating disorder. An increased level of neuroticism in an appearance based family environment is suggested to contribute to the occurrence of diet and weight issues developing in an eating disordered individual (Shuster, B 1999). There are a variety of theories and treatment options that are commonly used when attempting to explain the family dynamics involving the psychosomatic illness and prevalence of eating disorders. These include Marcus and Weiner’s six psychosocial transactional patterns, Stafford and Dainton’s systems theory approach, Minuchin et al. five familial traits within a psychosomatic family, and four transactional patterns that provide analysis between relationships within the family environment. The main treatment options for the psychosomatic family environment include traditional family therapy, structural family therapy, strategic family therapy, Milan
Ashley Gallagher (210331007) SWOK 2035 Professor Lackstrom Section A - Fall Term Final Essay December 1st, 2012
Eating disorders are considered to be psychosomatic illnesses that can impair both overall health and psychosocial functioning of individuals, primarily in females although the occurrence of eating disorders in males is becoming more frequent. Eating disorders and the analysis of family relationships and interactions is a popular topic. Many studies have viewed how the family environment affects the individual with disordered eating habits, although it is essential to also analyze specific relationships between specific family members and the individual with the eating disorder within the family. Family dynamics are complicated to grasp; currently the modern family varies across a diverse scope of differences incorporating the popular occurrence of blended families and many other issues that can arise in present day society. Factor analysis is frequently used to view transactional patterns within the family environment involving an eating disorder. An increased level of neuroticism in an appearance based family environment is suggested to contribute to the occurrence of diet and weight issues developing in an eating disordered individual (Shuster, B 1999). There are a variety of theories and treatment options that are commonly used when attempting to explain the family dynamics involving the psychosomatic illness and prevalence of eating disorders. These include Marcus and Weiner’s six psychosocial transactional patterns, Stafford and Dainton’s systems theory approach, Minuchin et al. five familial traits within a psychosomatic family, and four transactional patterns that provide analysis between relationships within the family environment. The main treatment options for the psychosomatic family environment include traditional family therapy, structural family therapy, strategic family therapy, Milan
References: Lock, James D & le Grange, Daniel,. “Family Treatment of Eating Disorders” from Clinical Manual of Eating Disorders, Joel Yager & Pauline S. Powers. Ed(s)., American Psychiatric Publishing, Incorporated, 2007, 149-170. Marcus, D. & Weiner, M (1989). Anorexia nervosa re-conceptualized from a psychosocial transactional perspective: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59(3). 346354. Minuchin, S., Rosman, B.L., Baker, L. (1978). Psychosomatic Families – Anorexia Nervosa in Context. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Shuster, B. Family interactional patterns in the risk for disordered eating, 1999. Stafford, L. & Dainton, M. (1995). Parent-child communication within the family. In Thomas J. Socha and Glen H. Stamp (Eds), Parents, Children and Communication: Forntiers of Theory and Research (pp. 3-21). New Jersey, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC. Van den Broucke S, Vandereycken W, Norre J,. Eating Disorders and Marital Relationships. New York, Routledge, 1997.