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Marriage in eating disorders comparisons between patients and spouses and changes over the course of treatment
D B Woodside1, J B Lackstrom, L Shekter-Wolfson
18EN-219, Eating Disorders Program, The Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, M5G 2C4, Toronto, ON, Canada. b.woodside@utoronto.ca
Objectives:
This study examines one aspect of the marital satisfaction, intimacy, of couples where one member has an eating disorder (ED), before and after intensive day hospital treatment for ED.
Methods:
Subjects were consecutive patients (n=22) attending a day hospital program for EDs and their spouses. The Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) was administered to the couples at admission to and discharge from the treatment program.
Results:
Patients showed less favorable ratings of the marriage at admission and discharge, compared to spouses, but patient's ratings improved significantly over the course of treatment. Patients generally improved in terms of their ED symptoms during the treatment. Spousal ratings showed satisfactory ratings of intimacy at the start of treatment and did not change over the course of treatment.
Conclusion:
The self-reported marital dissatisfaction of patients with an ED is at least partially alleviated after symptomatic treatment of the ED. Treatment of the ED in one member does not diminish marital satisfaction in the other member of the couple. The long-term prognosis for these couples remains unknown.