SynthesisThe International journal of eating disorders2026
The Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescents: A Critical Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in The International journal of eating disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Effectiveness of Psychological Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescents: A Critical Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAlthough international treatment guidelines for eating disorders recommend varying psychological approaches for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN), most existing reviews have combined adolescent and adult samples, leaving the overall evidence base for this population poorly defined. This systematic review is the first to synthesize randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological treatments for adolescents with AN across outpatient, inpatient, and day-patient settings.
methodA systematic search of databases (e.g., PubMed, APA PsycINFO) identified 22 relevant studies through June 2025. Eligible studies focused on adolescents (ages 8-18 years) with AN undergoing psychological treatment.
resultsEvidence from the nine RCTs consistently indicates that family therapy produces significant positive effects on somatic parameters (e.g., weight) and short-term eating-disorder symptoms. In four, mostly underpowered comparative RCTs, outpatient family therapy showed small-to-moderate effect sizes over individual therapy, though these were restricted to outcomes related to medical recovery. For inpatient care, a limited evidence base suggests that shorter inpatient treatment followed by outpatient care may achieve outcomes comparable to extended hospitalization. Psychological modules delivered during inpatient treatment (e.g., Cognitive Remediation Therapy, CBT-Insomnia) showed some improvements confined to narrow symptom domains but did not translate into broader recovery.
conclusionThe evidence base remains limited, with few RCTs in adolescents with AN and a geographically narrow, demographically homogeneous sample, predominantly girls from Western settings. Family therapy is supported as the first-line treatment, yet substantial uncertainties persist. Larger and more inclusive RCTs are needed to clarify mechanisms of change, long-term outcomes, and the effectiveness of individual-focused approaches.
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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.