Family Climate and Recovery in Adolescent Onset Eating Disorders: A Prospective Study

Abstract

This prospective study investigated the self-assessed family climate of adolescent patients and their parents during treatment of and recovery from eating disorders. One hundred two girls aged 13-17 years with eating disorders, answered the self-report Family Climate Scale (FCS) and Eating Disorders Inventory for Children at initial assessment and after 18 and 36 months. The FCS was also answered by their parents at the same time points. Self-assessed family climate and eating disorder symptoms were similar for recovered (R) and nonrecovered (NR) adolescents at initial assessment and at 18 months. At 36 months, FCS Closeness was higher for R, and FCS Distance was lower for R compared with NR. Parents of R adolescents had higher scores on FCS Closeness and lower scores on FCS Chaos compared with parents of NR adolescents at the 36-month follow-up. Self-reported family climate was associated with recovery. Changes in eating disorder symptoms preceded changes in family climate.