Autonomic arousal and conflict avoidance in anorexia nervosa: A pilot study

This study examined the nature and relevance of autonomic arousal during co nflict negotiation between anorexic patients and their mothers. Twenty anor exia nervosa Patients and 14 Psychiatric control patients, and their mother s were monitored for heart rate and skin conductance levels during low- and high-conflict discussion tasks, and self-reports of family functioning. An orexic Patients showed significantly greater arousal during high-conflict d iscussions than their mothers and psychiatric controls. Mothers of anorexic s showed a slowing of heart rate during the high-conflict task compared to their daughters. Heightened arousal in anorexic patients during high-confli ct: discussions was strongly associated with self-reported difficulties in family problem solving. These results suggest that a relationship exists be tween autonomic arousal and conflict avoidance in anorexia nervosa which wa rrants further investigation. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.