Mechanisms of FT-AN
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Mechanisms of Change of Family-Therapy for Anorexia (FT-AN): A Multiple Baseline Approach
IRAS ID
337051
Contact name
Julian Baudinet
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Family therapy for anorexia nervosa (FT-AN) is the recommended first line treatment for young people in the UK. FT-AN has been shown to work better than individual therapy for young people, but there are still many young people who do not respond to this treatment (Jewell, et al., 2016). One of the main barriers to improving FT-AN is that we don't know much about how this therapy works.
At the moment only a handful of uncontrolled and qualitative studies (i.e. unable to determine cause-effect) have studies the mechanisms of FT-AN. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate possible mechanisms (as identified though literature) by using a Single Case Multiple Baseline design, which is considered a feasible way to examine the causal relationship between a treatment and a treatment outcome.
We will collect data from young people with Anorexia (typical and atypical) and/or their parents/carers before and during the first 6 months of treatment to track changes in family factors, the therapeutic relationship, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and weight. The study is exploratory and therefore there is no specific research question or hypothesis.
The study will take place at an outpatient eating disorder service (MCCAED) and last 10 months. Participants will complete a battery of questionnaires twice before treatment and at month 3 and 6 of treatment. They will also complete a 5-item questionnaire twice before treatment and weekly during treatment. Weight data and therapy notes will be collected from clinical records. We may ask young people to attend their GP in the baseline period to collect an additional baseline weight measure.
This study is conducted as part of, and therefore funded by, the KCL Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and will hopefully help us improve our understanding of how treatments can be improved.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0277
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jun 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion