Parental expressed emotion of adolescents with anorexia nervosa: Outcome in family-based treatment

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between expressed emotion (EE) and outcome in family-based treatment (FBT) for anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD: Eighty-six adolescents with AN participated in an RCT comparing two doses of FBT. Seventy-nine of these patients and their parents participated in a structured interview, from which EE ratings were made at baseline. Parents were compared on five subscales of EE as well as overall level of EE (high vs. low). RESULTS: Overall EE levels were low with 32.9% of families presenting as High EE at baseline. Ratings of baseline warmth for both mothers (p = .014) and fathers (p = .037) were related to good outcome at end-of-treatment. DISCUSSION: EE in parents of adolescents with AN is remarkably low. Notwithstanding, parental warmth may be a predictor of good outcome.