The Experience of Siblings of Adolescents With Eating Disorders

Areemit, Rosawan S.; Katzman, Debra K.; Pinhas, Leora; Kaufman, Miriam E.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.011

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Volume 46, Issue 6 , Pages 569-576, June 2010

The Experience of Siblings of Adolescents With Eating Disorders

Rosawan S. Areemit, M.D.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
- Address correspondence to: Rosawan S. Areemit, M.D., Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mitrapap Road, Muang, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Debra K. Katzman, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Leora Pinhas, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
- Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Miriam E. Kaufman, BS.N., M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Received 7 July 2009; accepted 5 December 2009. published online 11 February 2010.

Abstract

Purpose

To qualitatively and quantitatively explore the experience and QOL of siblings of AEDs. To date, there is little research on the quality of life (QOL) and the effect an eating disorder (ED) has on the siblings of adolescents with an eating disorder (AEDs).

Methods

Siblings were recruited between January 2008 and April 2008. Inclusion criteria included siblings aged 10–18 years old and living with a sibling with an ED. Exclusion criteria included having an ED, or major psychiatric disorder, or a communication problem that interfered with their participation. Siblings completed a general assessment questionnaire, the Pediatric Quality of Life inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales and Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Focus group interviews were conducted until saturation was achieved and thematic analysis was employed.

Results

Twenty siblings (14 females) of 17 AEDs (15 females) participated. All but one sibling scored within the normal range for the Eating Attitudes Test-26. Key themes identified included a desire to understand the ED, acute awareness of ED behaviors and thoughts, challenges in understanding noneating-related obsessive behaviors, increase in family conflict and arguments, compassion and concern for the AED, feelings of loss and sacrifice, overwhelming sense of responsibility for the AED, and a sense of pervasiveness of the ED in all aspects of their lives. The siblings' accounts of these themes were noted to be fraught with contradictions. Eighty percent reported that their QOL was negatively affected by the onset of their siblings' ED.