Abstract

CRUZAT, Claudia; RAMIREZ, Patricio; MELIPILLAN, Roberto  and  MARZOLO, Paula. Eating Disorders and Perceived Family Functioning in a Sample of High School Students of Concepción, Chile. Psykhe [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.1, pp. 81-90. ISSN 0718-2228.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-22282008000100008.

Eating disorders are highly prevalent in adolescence, have relative bad prognosis and present difficulties for their treatment. Research indicates that families from adolescents suffering from eating disorders tend to be more dysfunctional than control families and that the quality of the family's functioning plays a key role in the course of the disease. The goal of this study was to identify relations between psychological symptoms associated with eating disorders and perceived family functioning among high school students. A sample of 296 adolescents from Concepción responded to the EDI-2 and TUSU. The main findings replicated the hypothesized relationship in a non-clinical population and emphasized the importance of father-adolescent communication. Future research should further study the role of father-adolescent communication in the emergence and maintenance of eating disorders.

Keywords : eating disorders; familiar functioning; adolescence.