1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The general aim of the present study was to add to the understanding of the reality of mothers and fathers of adolescents hospitalized for AN [anorexia nervosa] at the beginning of the illness (i.e. at the first hospitalisation and no more than 3 months after having received the diagnosis) by exploring how the negative and positive aspects of the caregiving experience relate to both dimensions of EE [Expressed Emotion] (i.e. EOI [Emotional Over-Involvement] and CC [Critical Comments]).» (p. 456-457)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«The following hypotheses were drawn based upon the extant literature: […] that both mothers and fathers would have low levels of EE; […] that mothers would have higher levels of EOI and report more negative aspects of caregiving than fathers; […] that negative aspects of the caregiving role would be positively linked to levels of EOI and CC for both groups of parents; […] that among the negative aspects of caregiving, difficult behaviors, and negative symptoms would contribute to CC and EOI for both groups of parents after controlling for the age and the body mass index of the adolescent.» (p. 457)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample consisted of mothers and fathers of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 hospitalized for restrictive AN […]. All adolescents were diagnosed by a paediatrician specialized in adolescent medicine and ED [eating disorders] in the 3 months prior to their hospitalization. All were hospitalized for the first time in an inpatient unit specialized in the treatment of ED in a University Health Centre in the province of Quebec, Canada. The final sample was constituted of 50 mothers and 38 fathers.» (p. 457)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The results obtained confirm the first hypothesis: participants reported having generally low levels of EE. [The] second hypothesis was partially supported. Mothers in our sample did have higher levels of EOI in comparison to fathers, but they did not report higher total scores of negative aspects of caregiving. As predicted by [the] third hypothesis, the dimensions of EE were positively associated with the negative aspects of the caregiving experience. Finally, the fourth hypothesis is partially supported: difficult behaviors contributed to the variance of CC for parents. However, contrary to our prediction, they did not contribute to the variance of parents’ EOI. Likewise, the negative symptoms did not contribute to the variance of both dimensions of EE.» (p. 463) «Results demonstrate that parents in our sample reported negative and positive aspects of their caregiving experience.» (p. 463) «Furthermore, mothers and fathers reported similar levels of total negative aspects.» (p. 463)