Abstract
Background: Adolescents’ eating disorders have been explored through various conceptual and empirical models. Only recently, scientific literature in this area has more specifically investigated the role of relationships, with particular attention to family functioning. Objective: This paper reviews family relationships aspects of eating disorders in adolescence. Methods: A narrative literature review of relational issues in adolescents’ eating disorders was performed. Results: Empirical evidence of family relationships in adolescents’ eating disorders confirms the relevance of relational aspects in the development and maintenance of the pathology. In particular, the contribution of the relational-systemic approach is wide, suggesting the need to refer to the family context for a better understanding of adolescents’ sufferance. Additionally, the empirical contributions from the conceptual model of Developmental Psychopathology, highlighting the importance of risk and protection factors in family relationships, provides knowledge about the phenomenon of adolescents’ eating disorders in terms of complexity. Conclusions: An integrated relational model aimed to explore adolescents’ eating disorders is worthy of investigation to accomplish specific program of intervention.
Highlights
Eating Disorders in AdolescenceEating disorders in adolescence are among the most important public health problems in the world [1,2,3,4,5], and they affect a predominantly female population of adolescent girls and young women, from 13 to 25/30 years of age, with a male/female ratio of about 1 out of 10 [6,7,8]
The descriptions of eating disorders in the family with adolescents given by clinicians and pioneers of family therapy have contributed to providing a general model of this pathology [68]
The present review aimed to provide a summary of the scientific research findings on relationships in adolescents’ eating disorders
Summary
Eating Disorders in AdolescenceEating disorders in adolescence are among the most important public health problems in the world [1,2,3,4,5], and they affect a predominantly female population of adolescent girls and young women, from 13 to 25/30 years of age, with a male/female ratio of about 1 out of 10 [6,7,8]. Defined as body weight control disorders involving significant impairment of physical and psychological functioning, eating disorders represent a category of extremely complex clinical conditions, characterized by abnormal eating patterns, excessive concern for body shape, and abnormal body image perception [6,9]. Due to their complexity, eating disorders can be considered a psychiatric pathology with complex pathogenesis, associated with several individual and relational psychological factors, and socio-cultural ones. The empirical contributions from the conceptual model of Developmental Psychopathology, highlighting the importance of risk and protection factors in family relationships, provides knowledge about the phenomenon of adolescents’
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