Burden and psychiatric symptoms on key relatives of patients with eating disorders: a preliminary study

Although eating disorders are serious illnesses that affect adolescents and strongly involve their families, no study to date investigated the burden of these families. Forty-three relatives of 26 patients with eating disorders were assessed on subjective and objective burden, overinvolvement, hypercriticism and psychiatric symptoms. The subjective burden reported by the key relatives of patients with Anorexia Nervosa was significantly greater than that of the key relatives of patients with Bulimia Nervosa. Moreover, the relatives of anorexic patients scored higher for overinvolvement and psychiatric symptoms than the relatives of bulimic patients. The findings of the present study suggest the usefulness of treatment programs that include family counselling.