While parents are considered essential for the effective treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa, the most effective manner to involve parents in treatment is unknown. Given reports of high caregiver burden among parents of this clinical group, finding treatments that minimize parent burden while improving the child's eating disorder symptoms is essential. This investigation will examine the preliminary effectiveness of a parent skills group and adolescent skills group compared to family therapy for the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. The target of this intervention is the improvement of eating disorder symptoms in the child and improving self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and perceived burden in the parent. The effectiveness of this experimental treatment group (Group Parent Training for the parents/Adolescent Skills Training for the adolescent) will be compared to the Maudsley model of family therapy. The effectiveness of the group program will be examined by exploring changes within individuals over time as well as via comparisons across treatment conditions. Results from this investigation will be used to calculate treatment effect sizes in the design of a larger, fully powered, randomized clinical trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
124
Skills group for parents that provides psychoeducation for eating disorder and skills in behavior management, self-regulation, and emotion regulation.
Family therapy specifically adapted for the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa.
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, United States
Body Mass Index
Time frame: 12 months
Eating disorder symptoms other than body weight.
Time frame: 12 months
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