Abstract
Method: Family relationships were analysed using the Sentences Completion Test (SCT) for patients with eating disorder (45 cases with anorexia nervosa, 28 cases with bulimia nervosa). They completed the test before treatment and three items in the test, "My father…", "My mother…",and "My family…me…" were selected for analysis. I investigated whether family relationships were different among the types of eating disorder and whether they were related with the prolongation of clinical course in AN or BN. Results: 1) In AN group, significantly more patients evaluated theirs father affirmatively such as "My father is gentle" than in BN group (P<0.05). 2) In BN group, significantly more patients evaluated their mother negatively than in the AN group (p<0.05). About the question "My family helps me in…" significantly more patients replied "my family helps me in…" in AN group than in BN group, and significantly more patients with BN received negative evaluations from their families than those in AN (p<0.05). Discussion and conclusion: Intrafamily relationships were different among the types of eating disorder and were more affected by changes in family systems and culture in the BN group, they deeply involved prolongation of the disease. The view-point of intrafamily relationships must be strongly emphasized in the treatment of eating disorder.
