Application of the family relations scale to a sample of anorexics, bulimics and non-psychiatric controls: a preliminary study
✍ Scribed by Christopher Paul Szabo; Justine Goldin; Daniel Le Grange
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 74 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1072-4133
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The role of the family in the pathogenesis and treatment of eating disorders is an area of extensive and ongoing research. Numerous scales for measuring various aspects of family functioning exist. The study employed the Family Relations Scale (FRS) in a sample of 17 eating disordered patients, and their families, diagnosed in a hospital setting using DSM IV criteria (anorexia nervosa: n 10; bulimia nervosa: n 7) and 20 non-psychiatric controls and their families. The families within the groups were remarkably similar; however, speci®c differences were demonstrated. These pertained to perceptions of hierarchy, boundary maintenance and idealization within the family as a whole. Further differences were found with respect to perceptions of the family from the patient's and father's perspectives. These differences may have implications for family as well as individual therapy. The study provides preliminary evidence of the potential utility of the FRS as a research instrument in eating disordered patients. Copyright *