title: The influence of carer fear and self-blame when supporting a loved one with an eating disorder.
abstract: Carers often feel disempowered and engage in behaviours that inadvertently enable their loved one's ED symptoms and yet little is known regarding these processes. This study examined the relationships among fear, self-blame, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling behaviours in 137 carers of adolescents and adults with ED. The results revealed that fear and self-blame predicted low carer self-efficacy in supporting their loved one's recovery as well as the extent to which carers reported engaging in recovery-interfering behaviours. The relevance of these findings are discussed in the context of family-oriented ED therapies and highlight the importance for clinicians to attend to and help to process strong emotions in carers, in order to improve their supportive efforts and, ultimately, ED outcomes.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Educational Psychology , University of Alberta , Edmonton , Alberta , Canada.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stillar
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , Wilfrid Laurier University , Brantford , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strahan
authors.affiliation: c Eating Disorder Foundation of NL , St. John's , Newfoundland , Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.affiliation: d Three Story Clinic , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Files
authors.affiliation: e Canadian Mental Health Association , Kitchener , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.affiliation: f Anchor Psychological Services , Ottawa , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Shari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mayman
authors.affiliation: f Anchor Psychological Services , Ottawa , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: g Department of Psychiatry , Dalhousie University , Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gusella
authors.affiliation: h IWK Health Centre , Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Connors
authors.affiliation: i Mental Health & Addiction Services, Cape Breton Regional Hospital , Sydney , Nova Scotia , Canada.
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.affiliation: j Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Hotel Dieu Hospital , Kingston , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marchand
authors.affiliation: k Mount Pleasant Therapy Center , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dolhanty
authors.affiliation: l Department of Psychology , Laurentian University , Sudbury , Ontario , Canada.|m Health Sciences North , Sudbury , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Adèle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafrance Robinson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005239:Fear; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D012649:Self Concept; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult