Attachment, expressed emotion and early symptom change in anorexia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration of the relationships between attachment, expressed emotion and early symptom change in family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa.
IRAS ID
270989
Contact name
Francesca Glover
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford, Clinical Trials and Reserach Governance
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
000000, 000000
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 15 days
Research summary
Previous research has shown that the strength of a child’s emotional bond (or ‘attachment’) to their main caregiver is related to anorexia symptomatology and that levels of expressed emotion (i.e. patterns of interactions, responses and attitudes towards a family member affected by poor mental health) influence rates of recovery in family therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (FT-AN).
FT-AN is known to be effective and treatment outcome can be predicted by progress from session one to session four. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which change occurs and who the treatment is more or less likely to work for.
Given the suggested roles of family variables, the current research aims to examine the relationships between attachment security, levels of expressed emotion and early symptom change in FT-AN. It is predicted that the relationship between attachment security and treatment outcome will be mediated by levels of expressed emotion between adolescents and their primary caregivers.
The study will recruit adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa who are receiving a course of FT-AN in local Child & Adolescent Eating Disorder Services. Adolescents who choose to take part will be asked to fill in questionnaires about their relationship with their primary caregiver, and the amount of weight they gain between treatment sessions 1 and 4 will provide a measure of early symptom change to help determine the ‘effectiveness’ of FT-AN.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/SC/0601
Date of REC Opinion
17 Feb 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion