Family systems theory of anorexia

What does the family systems theory of anorexia suggest?

That we must look at the family as a whole in order to understand why individuals have anorexia.

This enables us to study the way the anorexic individual interacts with their family.

What type of theory is family systems theory?

A psychological theory.

Which individual contributed to the family systems theory of AN?

Minuchin (1978).

What did Minuchin develop in 1978?

The psychosomatic family model.

What does the psychosomatic family model state about how AN is caused?

That AN is caused by a dysfunctional family.

This is in addition to a physiological vulnerability in the child.

What does the psychosomatic family contain?

There are 3 main characteristics of the psychosomatic family.

There are also 2 other characteristics of it.

What are the 3 main characteristics?

Enmeshment

Autonomy

Control

What is enmeshment?

When family members are over-involved with eachother, resulting in an extremely intense relationship.

Enmeshment features extreme proximity and a lack of boundaries.

How can enmeshment lead to AN?

It leads to problems with dealing with common social stressors.

This is because of the child’s lack of independence.

What is autonomy?

The freedom to make decisions and determine actions without the constraints imposed by others.

How autonomous is the psychosomatic family?

There is no autonomy.

The family places constraints on its members - leading to a lack of independence.

In a normal family, autonomy increases with age of the child. This is not the case for the psychosomatic family - they deny any need for change in the family.

Explain control in the context of the psychosomatic family.

There is overprotective control over family members.

How can this overprotective control lead to AN?

It leads to the belief for the child that they have little control over their life.

So the child may rebel against this control by refusing to eat (the thinner they become, the more control they have).

What are the two other features of the psychosomatic family?

Rigidity

Lack of conflict resolution

Explain rigidity in the context of the psychosomatic family.

Rigidity - refusing to adapt and change.

The psychosomatic family show a lack of flexibility when adapting to new situations.

Even in response to stress, rigidity is increased and alternatives are reisisted.

Explain lack of conflict resolution, in the context of the psychosomatic family.

Conflicts never get solved - they’re abandoned at their most intense level.

The family is in a state of constant, unresolved conflict.

There is also a difficulty in acknowledging problems.

What does the family do in attempt to avoid this conflict?

Present a strong facade of togetherness.

What is the child’s involvement in the psychosomatic family?

The child is involved in the parental conflict.

They’re involved in three ways.

What are the three ways the child with AN is involved in conflict in the psychosomatic family?

Triangulation

Parent-child coalition

Detouring

What is triangulation?

When two members of the family reject a third member (eg the child allying with one parent whilst rejecting the other).

This makes the child feel unable to express themself without appearing to side with one parent.

What is parent-child coalition?

The child moves into a more stable coalition (alliance) with one parent against the other.

The coalition parent may respond to the child’s needs with excessive concern (enmeshment), while the other parent withdraws and becomes less responsive.

What is detouring?

When parents blame the child when unable to resolve the problems between themselves.

The child is then identified as the problematic member of the family.

Positive eval

Research support for enmeshment - Manzi (2006) found an inverse relationship between enmeshment and positive outcomes + psychological wellbeing. This shows that it causes AN.

Brockmeyer (2003) found a desire for autonomy in people with AN. This supports the family systems theory as Minuchin stated that the psychosomatic family involved a lack of autonomy for the child.

Negative eval

Contrasting research - Kog and Vandereycken (1989) failed to find the characteristics predicted in the psychosomatic family model in families of AN sufferers. This shows that families of AN sufferers are differ in their nature and interaction - individual differences.

Gender bias - Gremillion (2003) claims the family systems theory focuses entirely on the mother-daughter relationship. Eg She argues that enmeshment is mostly a maternal feature. The role of the father is dismissed - Gremillion stated that the father can be overly controlling.