ArticleJournal of eating disorders2022
"Balancing within a closed family system": a grounded theory study of how family life is affected by having a family member with an eating disorder.
Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Family member's perceived impact of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa on family dynamics: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.Cadernos de saude publica · 2026Pooled it
- A descriptive study of patients' and families' experience of multifamily therapy for eating disorders in young adults.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Between shame, control, and survival: a grounded theory study of eating disorders among young Chinese women.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Case Report: Motivational ambivalence and family dynamics in severe adolescent anorexia nervosa treated in a Mexican multidisciplinary setting.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Disordered Eating Behaviors Among US Children: Untangling the Developmental Sex Differences.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Considerations for informing precision psychiatry in eating disorders: Foundations for future practice.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Case Report: An integrative approach to psychotherapy for the mother of a daughter with bulimia nervosa.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis qualitative study explores how having an adult daughter or sister with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa affects the family's daily life. Previous research has focused on the family's role in the development of an eating disorder, while more recently the focus has been on the illness's impact on the family. Caring for an individual with an eating disorder can involve distress, guilt, extra burdens, and unmet needs. By interviewing the family members of adults with eating disorders this study aims to gain insights into how the family members experience the impact of the eating disorder over time.
methodsA constructivist grounded theory approach was comprised to gather and analyse data to develop a theory on how families experience life with an adult daughter or sister with an eating disorder. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 21 parents and siblings from across Norway.
resultsThe participants reported a lack of professional help and the families had to handle the challenges related to the illness themselves, hence being left to themselves as a family was identified as the participants' main concern. To manage this concern the families had to balance a pattern of care within the closed family system, and this comprises the core category of the study. Families balanced a pattern of care by shifting roles, adapting meal routines, and maintaining openness within the family.
conclusionsThe findings implicate that families need clarification of roles and responsibilities in relation to the health services in caring for the individual with an eating disorder. More research on taking a family perspective concerning adults with eating disorders is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.