Family dynamics and parental bonding in eating disorders

Abstract

The main goal of this study is to compare the subjective perception of the bond and family dynamics in patients diagnosed with different types of disordered eating behavior. Different groups of patients were compared: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, obesity, and finally people without any disorder of eating behavior. The variables “subjective perception of bond” and “family dynamics” were assessed by means of the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979) and the Family, Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III (Olson, Portner & Lavee, 1985) respectively. The results show a tendency to link disaffected control in patients with TCA, variation in parental bonding between father and mother and differences among the different subtypes of eating disorder.