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Expressed emotion (EE), which traditionally refers to parents being highly critical of patients, has been associated with poor outcomes in schizophrenia, mood disorders, and eating disorders. In an analysis of data from a treatment study of 60 adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN; mean age, 17), researchers in France used a measure, based on 5-minute samples of parents' speech, to subdivide EE into criticisms (blame, resentment) and emotional overinvolvement (EOI; overprotection, self-sacrificing, lack of objectivity, extreme loving, emotional displays).
The treatment study compared 18 months of systemic family therapy with treatment as usual after an average 14-week hospitalization. Patients had a mean minimum lifetime body-mass index (BMI…