Verbal emotional expressiveness in women with eating disorders: recalling autobiographical memories

Autobiographical Memory in Feeding and Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

Prominent eating disorders (EDs) theories identify a critical relationship between body and self. One of the ways to study this relationship is through autobiographical memories (AMs). The present review aimed to evaluate the studies that investigated AM in patients with EDs.

METHODS

A search of PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases was performed to identify relevant articles. Of the 57,113 studies found, 25,016 were not duplicated. After screening, 27 articles were included.

RESULTS

The studies had some methodological flaws: none of the articles was a randomized control trial and the sample sizes were small. Nevertheless, important evidence emerged because all studies showed that patients with EDs have impaired AM function. This is because the way patients with EDs remember and define themselves is through an allocentric perspective associated with the gazes of others whose role has an impact on AM, body shape, and self.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to examine AM in patients with EDs. Future research is needed in EDs to expand knowledge about the relationship between the body and the self.

The Role of Food in the Family Relationships of Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia in Northeastern Brazil: A Qualitative Study Using Photo Elicitation

Family components can play roles both as protective factors and maintenance mechanisms of eating disorders. We aimed to investigate the role of food in the family relationships of adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia in northeastern Brazil. Using photo elicitation, a visual narrative method that gives insight into the participants' perspective through photograph, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 people: four teenage girls with anorexia, four with bulimia, eight mothers, four fathers, five grandmothers, and one sister. Data were analyzed using the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, which highlighted the following themes: control of the parent-adolescent relationship through food; food as a mean of experiencing parental presence-absence; food as the focus of conflict in the nuclear family, and food as a source of three-generational conflict. Food seemed to be a means for teens and parents to express physical suffering and psychological violence. Moreover, mourning appeared to influence the girls' relationships with food. Conflict in these families is not focused solely on food, but extends to other subjects, and teenagers' emotional reactivity concerning their relationship with their parents and food during family mealtimes varied. These features reinforced the cultural aspect and influences of eating experiences among adolescent girls with eating disorders. Remarkable disparities exist in the generations' views on what rules and rituals these adolescents must follow at meals. These disparities can obfuscate generational boundaries in these families. Our data reinforce the need to focus on the adolescent's autonomy in the family setting and on family identity as related to food among three generations. These findings necessitate a reorganization of boundaries between these generations.