Parental marital satisfaction in a family-based partial hospitalization program

ABSTRACT

In family-based treatment, parents are initially put in charge of the weight restoration process, requiring parents to work closely together to help their child recover, possibly putting a strain on the marital relationship. The purpose of the current study was to examine marital satisfaction in families before and after treatment in a family-based program and to determine whether marital satisfaction is related to patient outcome. Parents of 53 adolescent patients participated in the study. Almost half of mothers and a third of fathers reported a decrease in marital satisfaction over the course of treatment. Descriptive analyses revealed that patients whose parents reported a decrease in marital satisfaction scored worse on a measure of eating disorder psychopathology. Further research is needed to determine the direction of causality.