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Eating
Disorder and the Family
Eating
disorder in the family environment
 Many
therapists who work with eating disordered individuals seem to believe that
families may play a critical role in its development. Studies have found that as
many as half of the families of people with eating disorders have a long history
of emphasizing the importance of thinness, physical appearance, and dieting.
Frequently, the mothers in these families are more likely to diet themselves and
to be relatively perfectionistic in their thinking compared to other mother's
and families. It is believed that abnormal interactions and communications
within the family may set the stage for an eating disorder. Family systems
theorists suggest that families of people with eating disorders are relatively
dysfunctional families and that the eating disordered individuals are simply a
reflection of the larger problems within the family. Salvador Minuchin, who is
an influential family therapist believes that what he calls an enmeshed
family pattern often leads to eating disorders.
Eating
disorders in the enmeshed family system:
Theorists who believe that
eating disorders are a result of an enmeshed family system conclude that family
members are “overinvolved” in each other's affairs and the details of their
lives. These enmeshed families can be affectionate and loyal but they may also
be clingy and foster dependency. Frequently, parents are too involved in the
lives of their children, not allowing the children an opportunity for
independence and individuality. Minuchin argued that adolescence is an
especially difficult time for these families as a teenager begins to push for
independence, and becomes threatening to the family's apparent harmony and
closeness. He suggested that the family may subtly force the child to take on a
"sick" role, developing an eating disorder or some other illness. The child's
eating disorder enables the family to maintain its appearance of harmony with
the sick child needing the family and family members rallying around to protect
her.
There have been case studies
that have supported that such family systems explanations may be relevant to
individuals who develop eating disorders. However, empirical studies have
failed to show that particular family patterns consistently set the stage for
the development of eating disorders. In fact, it has been found that families
with such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa vary widely.
Some information from Ronald
J. Comer’s Abnormal Psychology
Additional information by Paul Susic MA
Licensed Psychologist Ph.D Candidate
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