Abstract
The present study was undertaken to investigate various factors affecting the treatment of hospitalized anorexia nervosa patients. We compared the characteristics of patients who dropped out of therapy in hospital with those of patients who made good progress, and investigated representative 3 cases of anorexia nervosa who dropped out of therapy. Then, we investigated factors which resulted in discontinuance of therapy according to 3 points of patients, families and therapists. First, we investigated characteristics of anorexia nervosa patients who were admitted to Hiroshima University Hospital for the past 10 years. The total number of subjects in this study was 34,all females. They were diagnosed as anorexia nervosa based on the criteria of DSM-III or DSM-III-R. Subjects were divided into two groups ; the first group (group 1), 17 cases, who dropped out from therapy in hospital, and the second group (group 2), 17 cases, who made good progress. As a result, in the group 1,1) many cases had stubborn and competitive personality, and had no good personal relationship, 2) in many cases, families were less cooperative, 3) in many cases, contracts of therapy were uncertain. Next, we reported representative 3 cases who dropped out of therapy in hospital. In all 3 cases, patients were not emotive and had less ability to express their thoughts into words, and their families were not cooperative due to lack of understanding of the disease. Upon reflection, therapists took an excessively neutral stand, and their confusion in role-taking produced negative effects on patient-therapist relationships
