FAMILY VERSUS INDIVIDUAL THERAPY FOR ANOREXIA - IMPACT ON FAMILY CONFLICT

This study evaluated the impact on family relations of behavioral fami ly systems therapy (BFST) versus ego-oriented individual therapy (EOIT ) as treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Twenty-two adol escents meeting DSM-III-R anorexia nervosa criteria were randomly assi gned to receive approximately 16 months of either BFST or EOIT along w ith a common medical and dietary regimen. BFST emphasized parental con trol over earing, cognitive restructuring, and problem-solving communi cation training. EOIT emphasized building ego strength, adolescent aut onomy, and insight. Measures included body mass index, self-reported g eneral and eating-related conflict, and observed general and eating-re lated communication, Both treatments produced significant reductions i n negative communication and parent-adolescent conflict, with some dif ferences between conditions and between eating and non-eating related conflict measures; the improvements in eating-related conflict were ma intained at a 1-year follow-up. The study demonstrated that structured therapies for adolescent anorexia do impact family relations, even wh en the family is never seen as a unit during the therapy. (C) 1995 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.