Eating Disorders And The Impact of Family Dynamics Research

Eating Disorders Research Abstract

This review is an in-depth analysis of the impact of family dynamics on eating disorders. The review wholly portrays the effects by using varied aspects vital in the field of psychology to study eating disorders. Firstly, this literature reviews Bachner-Melman et al.'s aspects of measuring eating disorders. Lock et al.'s alternative multiple family treatments to deal with children and adolescents suffering from the disorder and a similar method by Coelho et al. is known as family-based treatment.

Further, the paper notes resilience as a mediation factor in treating the disorder across different types of families as put by Leys et al. In support of Leys et al. is Marcon et al.'s study which supports parental involvement in the treatment of the disorder. Loss of parents, poverty, disunity among family members, and age bracket are gaps identified by the review which require further investigation.

The impact of family dynamics on Eating Disorders

Today, numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the impact of family dynamics on eating disorders. However, study results have a slight contradiction because different studies make specific references to the elements of the study. Bachner-Melman et al. suggest that lack of symptoms, bodily satisfaction, self-acceptance, and, most important social and family interaction are the key measures of eating disorders (ED). This review, therefore, represents a full examination of Bachner-Melman et al.'s study results and other studies that reported the impact of family dynamics on eating disorders.

Bachner-Melman et al.'s study conducted in 2018 established that the standardization of measurement of an eating disorder characterized an ED as one of the psychiatrist disorders that makes one have to eat difficulties as it gets accompanied by physical and psychological health disorders. Concerning family dynamics, the study found that there is always an agreement between family members, therapists, and victims of EDs concerning their recovery. This agreement forms a standardized medical model of recovery.

Bachner-Melman et al. (2018) further reported that apart from the clinical tool and the therapist. Family members are a high indicator of the recovery trajectory for suffering patients. This result is indeed an indication that family relations have an enormous impact on the lives of individuals suffering from eating disorders. Therefore, to measure the disorder, family dynamics have to be considered without second thoughts.

Multiple Family Treatment (MFT)

Bachner-Melman et al.'s findings seem slightly different yet highly related to the outcomes by Lock et al. Lock et al. (2018) suggest that we are not in the right position to deal with issues and cases of child and adolescent eating disorders. Lock et al. (2018) insists that a single-family treatment therapy is not enough to treat eating disorder among children hence recommends the utilization of multiple treatment therapies. In this view, Lock et al. highlight some baseline assessments conducted on different groups. At the end of the survey, clinical gains got reported. According to Lock et al. (2018, p.483), the study indicated that the treatment group that received an effective Multiple Family Treatment (MFT) had positive changes in their eating habits.

From the above discussion, Lock et al. affirms that bringing the family resources together through the use of MFT helps improve the interactions and relations between family members, hence improving the conditions of both the adolescents and children suffering from eating disorders. Additionally, family characteristics are identified as the potential moderators for eating disorders (Lock et al., 2018.p.484). Lock et al.'s study recommends the need for intensive parental coaching for both adolescents and children who are recognized as non-respondents. This literature is a reliable indicator that, indeed, family dynamics in the form of characteristics impact the eating disorders of children of different ages.

Family-Based Treatment (FBT)

Similarly, Coelho et al. (2019) studied the effectiveness of Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for pediatric eating disorders in a tertiary care setting. Coelho et al. (2018, p.1) defined an FBT that requires parents to support their children in fully recovering from an eating disorder. Despite the requirements, parents face numerous challenges like anxiety and burnout in tolerating a child's eating problems (Coelho et al.,2019, p.2). Coelho et al. (2019) found out that those who completed the FBT program got discharged so that they could make intense follow-ups with their family physician. These results highly indicated the impact of family dynamics on the elimination of eating disorders because family physicians might help eradicate anxiety after weight gain has been attained fully from the program.

Similar to this, finding is another critical finding that 25 individuals out of the selected 62 who fully completed the FBT for the eating disorder got referred to a community-based team for a community-based team so that they would continue with their FBT (Coelho et al., 2019, p.8). The number is less compared to the count of those who got transferred to family-related treatments. Coelho et al. (2019) recognize family-related therapy as a more intense procedure. Moreover, patients who have increased their BMI indicate better treatment outcomes.

Supporting Coelho et al.'s ideas concerning family members' challenges when helping other people correct the ED is Leys' study on the influence of family dynamics on eating disorders and their consequence on resilience. Leys et al. (2017, p.124) assert that family dynamics is characterized by the ability to cope with emotional challenges, flexibility and adaptability, low flexibility, and low adaptability. Resilience also considerably contributes to adapting to the sources of trauma and stress.

Distinguishing a relationship between the family

The study by Leys et al. (2017) recorded that young women who grew up in an extreme family since childhood have a higher chance of developing an eating disorder than young women from a mid-range and balanced family. The study reports a low resilience among young women in mid-range families compared to those from stable families. This information helps distinguish a relationship between the family structure and resilience level. Leys et al. (2017, p 128) made a conclusive observation that when resilience is introduced as a mediator, family dynamics will not affect the occurrence of an eating disorder.

In support of the above sentiments concerning family dynamics, Marcon et al.'s study offer a varied perspective on parental involvement and child and adolescent EDs from pediatrics, family medicine, and psychiatry residents. According to Marcon et al. (2017, p. 79), the primary role of parents is the involvement in the FBT. If parents get involved in the treatment of the ED of a child during their adolescent stage, the severity of the symptoms will likely reduce. The study results found that the endorsement of family involvement was lower among family medicine individuals and higher among those who had trained more than ten times. On the other hand, the study found that approximately 13% of parents should get involved in treating a child or adolescent's eating disorders to be in a better position to resolve issues related to family dynamics.

Future Study

The studies above have failed to look at the causes of eating disorders among children and adolescents who are orphans and do not have families. Their disorders might not have been caused by family interaction and relations as proposed by the above studies. The fact that some children suffer from psychological distress due to the loss of their parents is enough to make them suffer from eating disorders. Therefore, future studies should bring more effort into looking at the causes of the ED before looking at the ways of treating the disorders. In psychology and science, prevention is usually better than cure. Also, the above studies have failed to consider the fact that poverty can be a crucial accelerator of eating disorders. Apart from the family type, poverty can affect a child's access to meals, reducing weight or even the ability to maintain meals. Poverty profoundly affects family relations and interactions negatively. Parents are, therefore, highly unlikely to watch their children's eating behaviors when they are not in a position to cater to the meals.

helping children to recover

The identification of parental support in helping children recover from eating disorders is vital in supporting the impact that family dynamics have on them. Despite this relevance, the study by Coelho et al. fails to identify some of the factors like disunity among family members that might affect the kind of support they offer to their children. In cases where a family is divided, parental support might likely emerge as a challenge; hence the child might not be in a position to fully recover from the ED. There is, therefore, a need to further study the impact of disunity in accelerating the treatment of the disorder among children.

Children in the adolescent stage tend to be unruly as they cannot be controlled. Their behavior might affect the FBT where parents get involved in helping them treat the disorder. In this view, their age might be a real cause of ED. The study by Marcon et al. and Lock et al. could have given further information regarding the effect of age on children's eating behavior. There is, therefore, a need to investigate the impact of age on eating disorders and maybe if age difference has an effect on healthy family relationships and interactions.

References

Bachner-Melman, R., Lev-Ari, L., Zohar, A. H., & Lev, S. L. (2018). Can recovery from an eating disorder be measured? Toward a standardized questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 9 doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.0245

Coelho, J. S., Beach, B., O'Brien, K., Marshall, S., & Lam, P. (2019). Effectiveness of family-based treatment for pediatric eating disorders in a tertiary care setting. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1037/cpp0000273; 10.1037/cpp0000273.supp (Supplemental)

Leys, C., Kotsou, I., Goemanne, M., & Fossion, P. (2017). The influence of family dynamics on eating disorders and their consequence on resilience: A mediation model. American Journal of Family Therapy, 45(2), 123-132. doi:10.1080/01926187.2017.1303654

Lock, J., & Le Grange, D. (2018). Family-based treatment: Where are we, and where should we be going to improve recovery in child and adolescent eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, doi:10.1002/eat.22980

Marcon, T. D., Girz, L., Stillar, A., Tessier, C., & Lafrance, A. (2017). Parental involvement and child and adolescent eating disorders: Perspectives from residents in psychiatry, pediatrics, and family medicine. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry / Journal De l’Académie Canadienne De Psychiatrie De l’Enfant Et De l’Adolescent, 26(2), 78-85. Retrieved from http://ezproxysuf.flo.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2017-30917-003&site=ehost-live