Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T15:14:55.451Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Father–daughter relationship and the severity of eating disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

N. Horesh ,
E. Sommerfeld ,
M. Wolf ,
E. Zubery  and
G. Zalsman
N. Horesh
Affiliation:
Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel Both authors contributed equally to this study.
E. Sommerfeld
Affiliation:
Ariel University, Ariel, Israel Child and Adolescents Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 102 49100Petah Tikva, Israel Both authors contributed equally to this study.
M. Wolf
Affiliation:
Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
E. Zubery
Affiliation:
Shalvata Mental Health Center, Hod HaSharon, Israel
G. Zalsman*
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescents Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 102 49100Petah Tikva, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, Psychiatry Department, Columbia University, NY, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: Child and Adolescents Division, Geha Mental Health Center, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 102, 49100 Petah Tikva, Israel. Tel.: +972 3 9258205; fax: +972 3 9241041. E-mail address:[email protected]. (G. Zalsman).
Get access

Abstract

Background:

Mother–daughter relationship was the focus of studies on the development of eating disorders (ED) for many years. This study aimed to examine the association between the father–daughter relationship and ED and depressive symptoms.

Methods:

Fifty-three women diagnosed with ED were compared to a psychiatric control group (n = 26) and to healthy participants (n = 60) regarding their perception of their fathers and the relationship with them. Assessments were done using the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Eating Disorders Questionnaire, the Body Shape Questionnaire, the Eating Attitude Test, and the Beck Depression Inventory as well as narrative-based methods.

Results:

Fathers’ negative attributes were significantly associated with ED and depressive symptom. Two profiles of father–daughter relationship were found, the “caring and benevolent” relationship and the “overprotective and avoidant” one. In the latter, patients displayed significantly higher levels of food-restraint, more concerns about eating and about their body shape and appearance, and higher levels of depression.

Discussion:

Negative perception of the father's parenting style as well as the quality of the relationship with him are crucial for the understanding of the development and persistence of ED. Therapeutic programs for ED should focus not only on the relationship with the mother but must also address the relationship with the father.

Keywords

Eating disorderDepressionFatherParentingAttachment
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 114 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackerman, SJ, Hilsenroth, MJ, Clemence, AJ, Weatherill, R, Fowler, JC. Convergent validity of Rorschach and TAT scales of object relations. J Pers Assess 2001;77:295–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR), 4 ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.Google Scholar
Bachar, E, Kanyas, K, Latzer, Y, Canetti, L, Bonne, O, Lerer, B. Depressive tendencies and lower levels of self-sacrifice in mothers, and selflessness in their anorexic daughters. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2008;16:184–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bamford, B, Halliwell, E. Investigating the role of attachment in social comparison theories of eating disorders within a non-clinical female population. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2009;17:371–379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bauer, KW, Bucchuaneri, MM, Neumark-Sztainer, DMother-reported parental weight talk and adolescent girls’ emotional health, weight control attempts, and disordered eating behaviors. J Eat Disord 2013;1–45.Google ScholarPubMed
Beck, AT, Steer, RA, Carbin, MG. Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clin Psychol Rev 1988;8:77–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blatt, SJ, Wein, SJ, Chevron, E, Quinlan, DM. Parental representations and depression in normal young adults. J Abnorm Psychol 1979;88:388–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brennan, KA, Clark, CL, Shaver, PRSelf-report measurement of adult attachment: an integrative overview. In: Simpson, JA, Rholes, WS, editors. Attachment theory and close relationships New York: Guilford; 1998. p. 46–76.Google Scholar
Bulik, CM, Sullivan, PF, Fear, JL, Pickering, A. Outcome of anorexia nervosa: eating attitudes, personality, and parental bonding. Int J Eat Disord 2000;28:139–147.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calabrese, ML, Farber, BA, Westen, D. The relationship of adult attachment constructs to object relational patterns of representing self and others. J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry 2005;33:513–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canals, J, Sancho, C, Arija, MV. Influence of parent's eating attitudes on eating disorders in school adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2009;18:353–359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canetti, L, Kanyas, K, Lerer, B, Latzer, Y, Bachar, E. Anorexia nervosa and parental bonding: the contribution of parent-grandparent relationships to eating disorder psychopathology. J Clin Psychol 2008;64:703–716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castro, J, Toro, J, Cruz, M. Quality of rearing practices as predictor of short-term outcome in adolescent anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med 2000;30:61–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole-Detke, H, Kobak, R. Attachment processes in eating disorder and depression. J Consult Clin Psychol 1996;64:282–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, PJ, Taylor, MJ, Cooper, M, Fairburn, CG. The development and validation of the Body Shape Questionnaire. Int J Eat Disord 1987;6:485–494.3.0.CO;2-O>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, JW, Plano Clark, VLDesigning and conducting mixed methods research. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.; 2011.Google Scholar
Dominy, NL, Johnson, WB, Koch, C. Perception of parental acceptance in women with binge eating disorder. J Psychol 2000;134:23–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Downs, KJ, Blow, AJ. A substantive and methodological review of family-based treatment for eating disorders: the last 25 years of research. J Fam Ther 2011;35S1:3–28.Google Scholar
Eisler, I, Dare, C, Hodes, M, Russell, G, Dodge, E, Le, GD. Family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa: the results of a controlled comparison of two family interventions. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2000;41:727–736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairburn, CG, Beglin, SJ. Assessment of eating disorders: interview or self-report questionnaire?. Int J Eat Disord 1994;16:363–370.Google ScholarPubMed
First, MB, Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M, Williams, JBWStructured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR axis I disorders, clinician version (SCID-CV). Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.; 1996.Google Scholar
First, MB, Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M, Williams, JBWStructured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR axis I disorders, research version, non-patient edition (SCID-I/NP). New York: Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute; 2002.Google Scholar
Garner, DM, Olmsted, MP, Bohr, Y, Garfinkel, PE. The eating attitudes test: psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychol Med 1982;12:871–878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gutzwiller, J, Oliver, JM, Katz, BM. Eating dysfunctions in college women: the roles of depression and attachment to fathers. J Am Coll Health 2003;52:27–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isserlin, L, Couturier, J. Therapeutic alliance and family-based treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Psychotherapy 2012;49;46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, CJ, Leung, N, Harris, G. Father–daughter relationship and eating psychopathology: the mediating role of core beliefs. Br J Clin Psychol 2006;45:319–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McVey, GL, Pepler, D, Davis, R, Flett, G, Abdolell, M. Risk and protective factors associated with disordered eating during early adolescence. J Early Adolesc 2002;22:76–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C, Gillings, K. Parental bonding and bulimic psychopathology: the mediating role of mistrust/abuse beliefs. Int J Eat Disord 2004;35:229–233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mikulincer, M, Shaver, PRAttachment in adulthood: structure, dynamics and change. New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2007.Google Scholar
Mushquash, AR, Sherry, SB. Testing the perfectionism model of binge eating in mother–daughter dyads: a mixed longitudinal and daily diary study. Eat Behav 2013;14:171–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nielsen, LFather–daughter relationships: contemporary research and issues. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogden, J, Steward, JThe role of the mother–daughter relationship in explaining weight concern. Int J Eat Disord 2000;28:78–83.3.0.CO;2-N>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O’Kearney, RAttachment disruption in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a review of theory and empirical research. Int J Eat Disord 1996;20:115–127.3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parker, G, Tupling, H, Brown, LBA parental bonding instrument. Br J Med Psychol 1979;52:1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, EJ, Hilsenroth, MJ, Blagys, MD, Handler, LReliability and validity of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale in clinical use. Psychother Res 2006;16:617–626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polivy, J, Herman, CPCauses of eating disorders. Annu Rev Psychol 2002;53:187–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ricca, V, Rotella, F, Mannucci, E, Ravaldi, C, Castellini, G, Lapi, F, et al.Eating behaviour and body satisfaction in Mediterranean children: the role of the parents. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health 2010;6:59–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ringer, F, Crittenden, PMEating disorders and attachment: the effects of hidden family processes on eating disorders. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2007;15:119–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowa, K, Kerig, PK, Geller, JThe family and anorexia nervosa: examining parent–child boundary problems†. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2001;9:97–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandelowski, MFocus on research methods combining qualitative and quantitative sampling, data collection, and analysis techniques. Res Nurs Health 2000;23:246–255.3.0.CO;2-H>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sights, JR, Richards, HCParents of bulimic women. Int J Eat Dis 1984;3:3–13.3.0.CO;2-3>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stice, ERisk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull 2002;128:825–848.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stricker, G, Healey, BJProjective assessment of object relations: a review of the empirical literature. Psychol Assessment 1990;2:219–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuart, GW, Laraia, MT, Ballenger, JC, Lydiard, RBEarly family experiences of women with bulimia and depression. Arch Psychiatr Nurs 1990;4:43–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swarr, AE, Richards, MHLongitudinal effects of adolescent girls’ pubertal development, perceptions of pubertal timing, and parental relations on eating problems. Dev Psychol 1996;32:636–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tasca, GA, Szadkowski, L, Illing, V, Trinneer, A, Grenon, R, Demidenko, N, et al.Adult attachment, depression, and eating disorder symptoms: the mediating role of affect regulation strategies. Pers Individ Dif 2009;47:662–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, A, Ramsay, R, Turnbull, S, Benedettini, M, Treasure, JAttachment patterns in eating disorders: past in the present. Int J Eat Disord 2000;28:370–376.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westen, DClinical assessment of object relations using the TAT. J Pers Assess 1991;56:56–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westen, D, Feit, A., Zittel, CMethodological issues in research using projective techniques. In: Kendall, PC, Butcher, JN, Hombeck, G, editors. Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology 2nd ed. New York: Wiley; 1999.224–240.Google Scholar
Zachrisson, HD, Skårderud, FFeelings of insecurity: review of attachment and eating disorders. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2010;18:97–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.