Essay Family Structure in Eating Disorders

Can We Better Understand Eating Disorders, Namely Anorexia Nervosa, Through A Biomedical Model Or By Socio-cultural Analysis?

In “Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: The Development of Deviant Identities", which was published in 1987, the researchers utilized the labeling theory in their study on anorexics and bulimic victims. The current appearance norms in society demand thinness for women and muscularity in men. Social and Individual factors were considered in the studies which were conducted by the authors, Penelope A. McLorg and Diane E. Taub. Advertising has become the primary agent of socialization which promotes the slimness of both genders in our society. The researchers noted conformity in the behavior of the anorexics' and bulimics' families tend to conform to the norms by making close relations. In the study, the researchers found that parent’s opinions on

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Up until 2004, there was virtually no clinical trials to prove that families should be incorporated in the treatment process. Krautter and Lock (2004), disproved all of the critics to show that family based therapy worked in a clinical trial on an adolescent girl with anorexia. Family Based Therapy works in three steps, otherwise known as the Maudsley Approach. In the clinical trial, the first step for the therapy is to ensure the patient will not die from starvation, hypothermia, or heart problems. The therapist helps the parents learn tactics on how to get their children to eat more at the dinner table, but still being gentle and caring by letting their child know it is not their fault for their eating disorder. The second step in the therapy involves more freedom given to the child because they are not in a life-threatening situation anymore (if they have gained weight), but the parents still press eating meals along with this freedom. The third step helps the adolescent find their identity and how they will organize their life with their parents being involved. These three steps in Family Based Therapy were shown to be effective in a clinical

Minuchin believes that individuals who are anorexic tend to come from enmeshed families. Enmeshed families is families that tend to stick their noses in other people’s business. Children feel they only have control over what they eat. The bad points about this is that it doesn’t explain the fact that there is higher rates of eating disorders now rather than in the 1950’s. Cause or result – does the family actually stick their nose into other peoples business which is seen as a cause as their constantly looking at other people’s lives or do they stick their nose in because the girl is anorexic because of the enmeshed family or is the family enmeshed because the girls anorexic. Although this can’t explain gender differences or can’t explain the sudden increase in recent years.

     The family tends to play an important role in the development of eating disorders. Males tend to have very strict, domineering fathers who encouraged development in sports. It has also been recognized that many men with eating disorders may not have had a father figure around at all. (Zerbe, 1992) Their mothers have been described as overprotective and controlling. (Romero, 1994) Adolescent boys with eating disorders relate that parents or siblings are usually on diets as well and there tends to be an emphasis on food and dieting

Genetic factors can also play its part in contributing - anorexia in teenage girls occurs eight times more often in people who have relatives with the disorder. (Anorexia – a guide to sufferers and their families R.L Palmer 1980). My own Mother was grossly overweight at the time of my condition and I viewed her as someone who was completely out of control with no respect

In this article “Fighting Anorexia: No One to Blame” it discusses the struggles and challenges children face as young as 8 years old and teens from 13 to 18 years of age when dealing with the eating disorder “Anorexia Nervosa.” Which is defined in our text as an “eating disorder characterized by self-starvation” (Bee, pg. 384). The staff of “Newsweek” also discuss who or what is to blame for anorexia nervosa in the past parents have been blamed when their children have shown signs in regards to this disorder. Research has shifted from blaming the parents to the possibility anorexia might have some links to mental disorder, genetics or even environmental factors which can influence the disorder. Lastly, the article discusses various

This studies goal was to examine the extent to which family environment and attachment styles are concurrently related to eating disorders.

Eating disorders appear to run in families-usually affecting only the women. One study found that mothers who are overly concerned about their daughters' weight and physical attractiveness--along with overly critical fathers and brothers-may put girls at increased risk of developing an eating disorder. ( http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/disorder.html#Causes ) Another study notes that, "inappropriate parental pressure was specific for eating disorders ... and Eating Attitudes Tests (ETAT) scores correlated significantly with hostlity toward child, sibling disability, parental overprotection, inappropriate parental pressures, and negative changes in family relationships." (Horesh, -Nefta) When the connection between eating disorders and familial traits was looked into, three interpretable factors were found by Steiger-eating concerns and symptoms, dramatic-erratic traits, and obsessive-compulsive traits. Correlations were also found among the subjects' factor scores--correspondences between daughters' and parents' psychopathological traits, and between daughters' and mothers' eating concerns.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Many theorists believe that family dynamics of those suffering from eating disorders may have contributed to their illness. For instance, anorexic families have sought to be closely related, with perfectionistic attitudes, and higher socioeconomic status. Cole-Detke & Konak (1996) described anorexic families as dependent on their child which results in the sufferer being tired to their needy parents by stopping their daughter from actually developing her own autonomy and sense of separation into the world. According to attachment theory, disordered eating behaviors and the attempt to control

Much of the literature that focuses on the parents' role in the development of eating disorders is focused on the mother and the mother-daughter relationship. Studies have shown conclusively that a mother's body image and eating habits are, mirrored in her daughter, and that if she is obsessed with her own body image, it stands likely that her daughter will be the same way both growing up and in her adult life. The father, though, is often left out of the research except for in the basic family profile. Here, we will examine the active role that the father plays in the development of eating disorders in their daughters. First, we will explore why the father's ideas and

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are eating disorders that severely affect both men and women around the world. The cause of the eating disorder usually derives from psychological, biological and social forces. Eating disorders have become an epidemic in American society, twenty-four million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.\, 2011). There are many ways to address and treat an eating disorder. There have been multiple studies conducted to test the effectiveness of different types of treatment. My central research question analyzes the relationship between the continuation of the eating disorder with the presence of intervention or some

Eating disorders tend to run in families and female relatives are the most often to be affected. Some recent studies from researchers found that mothers who are too concerned about their children’s weight and appearance, it may put them at increased risk of developing an eating disorder. (Hoffman). Ultimately, genetic research may prove to be the key to unlocking our understanding of environmental risk factors for eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik). Multiple studies have been undertaken to that show possible genetic likeliness toward developing eating disorders as a result of inheritance (News Medical).