1. Emotion coaching skills as an augmentation to family‐based therapy for adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A pilot effectiveness study with families with high expressed emotion.
- Author
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Aarnio‐Peterson, Claire M., Le Grange, Daniel, Mara, Constance A., Modi, Avani C., Offenbacker North, Emily, Zegarac, Miriam, Stevens, Kimberly, Matthews, Abigail, Mitan, Laurie, and Shaffer, Anne
- Subjects
ANOREXIA nervosa treatment ,FAMILY psychotherapy ,SUPPORT groups ,CRITICISM ,RESEARCH funding ,EDUCATIONAL outcomes ,PILOT projects ,EMOTIONS ,FAMILIES ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,PSYCHOEDUCATION ,PARENT attitudes ,ATTENTION ,WEIGHT gain ,ADOLESCENCE - Abstract
Objective: To examine the feasibility and acceptability of augmenting family‐based treatment (FBT) for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) or atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN) with a parent emotion coaching intervention (EC) focused on reducing parent expressed emotion. Method: In this pilot effectiveness trial, families of adolescents with AN/AAN exhibiting high expressed emotion received standard FBT with either (1) EC group or (2) support group (an attention control condition focused on psychoeducation). Results: Forty‐one adolescents with AN or AAN were recruited (88% female, Mage = 14.9 ± 1.6 years, 95% White: Non‐Hispanic, 1% White: Hispanic, 1% Bi‐racial: Asian). Most study adolescents were diagnosed with AN (59%) while 41% were diagnosed with AAN. Participating parents were predominantly mothers (95%). Recruitment and retention rates were moderately high (76% and 71%, respectively). High acceptability and feasibility ratings were obtained from parents and interventionists with 100% reporting the EC intervention was "beneficial"–"very beneficial." The FBT + EC group demonstrated higher parental warmth scores at post‐treatment compared to the control group (standardized effect size difference, d = 1.58), which was maintained at 3‐month follow‐up. Finally, at post‐treatment, the FBT + EC group demonstrated higher rates of full remission from AN/AAN (40%) compared to FBT + support (27%), and were nine times more likely to be weight restored by 3‐month follow‐up. Discussion: Augmenting FBT with emotion coaching for parents with high expressed emotion is acceptable, feasible, and demonstrates preliminary effectiveness. Public Significance: Family based treatment for AN/AAN is the recommended treatment for youth but families with high criticism/low warmth are less likely to respond to this treatment. Adding a parent emotion coaching group (EC) where parents learn to talk to their adolescents about tough emotions is feasible and well‐liked by families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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