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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:zalsman@post.tau.ac.il. (G. Zalsman).
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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

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