title: Family perception of interpersonal behavior as a predictor in eating disorders: a prospective, six-year followup study.
abstract: This study assessed family perception patterns of interpersonal behavior in families with a daughter diagnosed with an eating disorder 6 years after treatment that used a prospective design. Family perception patterns of patients found to have a poor outcome at followup (n = 15) were compared with patients with a good outcome (n = 23), as well as a control group (n = 36). Using the system of multiple level observation of groups (SYMLOG), all 238 family members evaluated themselves and each other. The index patients with a poor outcome perceived themselves as friendlier and more positive than they were perceived by their families. In comparison to parents of daughters with a good outcome and the control group, parents of daughters in the poor outcome group perceived themselves to be less friendly than their partners perceived them to be. A rigid polarization of the perception of the index patient by family members and a discrepancy in this perception between the index patient and the rest of the family were found to be indicative of a poor prognosis. Implications for treatment based on family perception patterns of interpersonal behavior are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine 2 (General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine), University of Heidelberg Medical Hospital, Germany. wolfgang_herzog@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kronmüller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kröger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors