Are Mental Health Symptoms of Parents of Young People Accessing Treatment for Eating Disorders Associated With Accommodating and Enabling Behaviours?

Abstract

Background: Parental and family factors influence treatment outcomes of adolescents with eating disorders (EDs), particularly in family-based interventions. However, little is known about how parental mental health is associated with well-established factors that influence treatment outcomes. This study examined: prevalence and sex differences of parental psychopathology (depression, anxiety, ED, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)); associations with expressed emotion, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling behaviours; and if parental psychopathology independently predicted parental accommodating behaviour.

Methods: Participants included 343 caregivers (212 female) of young people referred to a public outpatient ED service who completed measures of psychopathology, expressed emotion, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling behaviours.

Results: Prevalence of parental mental health symptoms that exceeded clinical cut-points was variable, ranging from 1.6% for fathers' ED symptoms, to 41.9% for mothers' anxiety symptoms. Mothers were more likely to score higher than fathers on depression, anxiety and ED symptom scales. Regression analyses revealed that anxiety and emotional overinvolvement significantly predicted accommodating and enabling behaviours in both male and female caregivers, with perceived criticism also a significant predictor for females.

Discussion: Findings highlight the need for supporting parents of young people with EDs with their own mental health and the potential impact that further support for parents may have on treatment outcomes for their children.