Expressed emotion and long-term outcome among adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study is to examine expressed emotion (EE) and long-term treatment outcome among adolescents participating in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). It was hypothesized that patients with high EE parents at baseline would show more severe symptoms at end-of-treatment, 12-month follow-up, and 4-year follow-up than patients from low EE families. METHOD: Secondary data analysis was conducted of original RCT data from a two-site eating disorder treatment trial conducted in the United States. Participants were 121 adolescents with AN who completed measures of EE, eating disorder psychopathology, depression, and self-esteem. RESULTS: Generalized estimating equations showed that participants who were in the Low EE group achieved a more accelerated drop in depression scores in the context of treatment (first 12 months) than participants in the High EE group. No other significant Group × Time interactions were found. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that high parental EE at baseline does not indicate that adolescent patients with AN will fare poorly 4 years later.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Rienecke, RD; Gorrell, S; Blalock, DV; Smith, K; Lock, J; Le Grange, D

Published Date

  • November 2021

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 54 / 11

Start / End Page

  • 2019 - 2024

PubMed ID

  • 34553396

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC8810289

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1098-108X

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1002/eat.23613

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • United States