UCSF

Objective

The purpose of this paper was to examine expressed emotion (EE) measured from adolescents with bulimia nervosa (BN) toward their parents, in addition to measuring EE from parents toward patients.

Method

Fifty-four adolescents and their parents who were receiving treatment for BN participated in a videotaped family interview, from which ratings of EE were made.

Results

Parent and patient scores were highly correlated. Four family profiles were created (Low Patient EE/Low Parent EE; High Patient EE/High Parent EE; Low Patient EE/High Parent EE; High Patient EE/Low Parent EE) to determine whether the match between parent and patient EE was related to treatment outcome. The Low Patient EE/Low Parent EE group demonstrated the greatest reduction in purging from baseline to end-of-treatment; the High Patient EE/Low Parent EE group showed the smallest reduction in purging.

Discussion

EE has historically been rated from relatives toward patients, but patients' own EE may also be related to treatment outcome.