Psychologixal Explenations For Anorexia Nervosa, Family Systems

Question 1

What is the family systems model

Answer 1

Minuchin’s psychosomatic family systems model states that AN is developed as the result of dysfunctional family dynamics which coincide with physiological vulnerability in a child

Question 2

What’s the concept focused on

Answer 2

The relationship between mother’s and daughters

Question 3

What are the five reasons a dysfunctional family can lead to the development of AN

Answer 3

-enmeshment
-overprotectiveness
-lack of autonomy
-rigidity
-conflict avoidance

Question 4

Enmeshment

Answer 4

An enmeshed family is one whose identities are tied up with each other, lacking boundaries and resulting in over involvement and lack of privacy

This leads to adolescent daughters asserting independence by restrictive eating

Question 5

Over protectiveness

Answer 5

Enmeshed families are constantly protecting each other from external threats, reinforcing family values of each other over themselves

This leads to the adolescent daughter restricting her eating in order to gain back control with the thinner she gets, the more in control she feels

Question 6

Lack of autonomy

Answer 6

Adolescent daughters struggle to fight for autonomy due to the mothers discouraging separation and a need for independence

This leads to a distorted image of self and inability to identify internal cues of hunger, leading to restrictive eating as a way to gain back control

Question 7

Rigidity

Answer 7

The interactions of an enmeshed family are extremely inflexible meaning that things like the adolescent daughter wanting to seek more independence cannot be accommodated. The mother squashed any attempts at differentiation often leading to An due to restriction

Question 8

Conflict avoidance

Answer 8

Members of an enmeshed family will take whatever steps possible to prevent internal issues, not addressing them until crisis occurs

This means that the AN daughter continues not to eat and it’s not discussed as an issue within the enmeshed family

Question 11

Real world applications

Answer 11

-Behavioral family systems therapy
-Aims to disentangle family dynamics and encourage the AN patient to interact more with people outside of their family circle to reduce parental control over eating
-Effective 6/11 female patients with AN were considered recovered after 16 months

Question 12

Gender bias

Answer 12

-gynocentric theory
-Exclusively focuses on mother daughter relationships
-Research found that fathers in enmeshed families actually are more likely to demand action and change

Question 13

Issues with cause and effect

Answer 13

-Research does not support enmeshed families being the reason behind family dysfunction, it’s just as likely that enmeshment , over protectiveness and rigidity are caused by having an AN daughter
-The consequences are intimately connected but not necessarily the cause