Nine-year follow-up of girls with anorexia nervosa and their siblings: retrospective perceptions of parental bonding and the influence of illness on their everyday life.
BACKGROUND
Few previous anorexia nervosa (AN) studies include siblings.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate if adolescents with AN retrospectively perceived their parents as less caring and more controlling than their siblings, whether perceived parenting was related to psychological problems, and how AN had influenced their everyday lives.


METHODS
Forty-six former patients (mean age 23.1 years) and 21 siblings participated in the study by completing the Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI) and a questionnaire on the influence of AN during the acute phase.


RESULTS
Former patients and their siblings had similar PBI results. Better adaptive functioning and lower levels of internalising psychological problems were correlated with higher ratings of parental care in both patients and siblings. Both patients and siblings reported that the illness had created conflict and caused concern, but had also provided valuable experiences.


CONCLUSIONS
Perceived parenting was associated with psychological problems in young adulthood but not with eating disorders. Our PBI results for both former patients and siblings were quite similar to non-clinical control groups. Health personnel treating adolescent AN should be aware of siblings' perspectives and needs.
Regional Department of Eating Disorders, Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, NO-0424 Oslo, Norway. inger.halvorsen@uus.no
Inger
I
Halvorsen
Øyvind
Ø
Rø
Sonja
S
Heyerdahl
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult