Individualized peer support needs assessment for families with eating disorders.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health
• Family Support

Background:

• Peer support is crucial for families managing mental illness.
• Limited research exists on peer support for families of individuals with eating disorders (EDs).
• Understanding family needs is essential for effective peer support implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify needs for group and individual peer support for families with EDs.
• Characterize family members willing to receive or provide individual peer support.
• Assess the relationship between willingness to provide/receive support and caregiver burden/patient symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional online questionnaire survey of family members of individuals with EDs.
• Assessed need for peer support, interest in providing support, and social resource utilization.
• Utilized General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (J-ZBI_8), and Anorectic Behavior Observation Scale (ABOS).

Main Results:

• High demand for group (87.3%) and individual (56.7%) peer support systems.
• Over 50% expressed strong willingness to receive individual peer support.
• Those willing to receive support reported higher caregiver burden and poorer mental health (GHQ, J-ZBI_8).
• A subset willing to provide support had patients with improved ED symptoms but also showed signs of mental health strain.
• Many potential peer supporters (45.7%) exceeded mental health screening cutoffs.

Conclusions:

• Families of individuals with EDs have a significant need for peer support.
• Caregivers seeking individual peer support often experience high burden and poor mental health.
• Potential peer supporters may have patients with improving ED symptoms but require support themselves.
• Training is essential for developing effective peer supporters in ED care.