Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Study | Year | Design | Country | Sample Size | Type of Sample | Age Range (Years) | Investigated Family Issues | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berge et al. [22] | 2014 | C | USA | N = 2793 | R | 11–19 | Family functioning and parenting practices | Parental psychological control moderated the protective relationship between family functioning and disordered eating behaviors in adolescent girls |
| Berge et al. [23] | 2010 | C | USA | N = 2516 | R | 13–18 | Family relationships and parental style | Authoritative parenting style may play a protective role related to adolescent overweight |
| Aragona et al. [36] | 2011 | C | Italy | N = 60 | CL | 13–18 | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) and psychopathological symptoms | High levels of cohesion were found in families with adolescents with eating disorders (hyper-involvement of family members) |
| Leung and Shek [42] | 2014 | C | China | N = 275 | HR | 11–16 | Family relationships (parent–adolescent; parental responsiveness and control) | Adolescents generally perceived lower levels of parenting behaviors than did their parents |
| Gillett et al. [50] | 2009 | C | USA | N = 102 | CL | 14–20 | Family process rules (kindness; expressiveness and connection; constraining thoughts, feelings, and self; inappropriate caretaking; and monitoring | Eating-disordered youth reported a lower proportion of facilitative family rules and a higher proportion of constraining family rules than did parents and siblings |
| Sim et al. [51] | 2009 | C | USA | N = 55 | CL | 14–18 | Family functioning and psychological symptoms | Families of girls with AN experienced greater family conflict, reduced parental alliance, and increased feelings of depression |
| Hayaki [52] | 2009 | C | USA | N = 115 | HR | 16–20 | Family situation and emotion dysregulation (alexithymia and experiential avoidance) | Individuals who expect eating to provide emotional relief may be especially susceptible to disordered eating (bulimia nervosa) |
| Haines et al. [53] | 2016 | C | Canada | N = 3768 | R | 14–24 | Family functioning and quality of mother- and father-adolescent relationship | High family functioning was associated with lower odds of disordered eating |
| Tafà et al. [54] | 2017 | C | Italy | N = 90 | CL | 13–15 | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) and psychopathological symptoms | Anorexic families show a maladaptive functioning and anorexic adolescents present intense psychopathological disturbances |
| Visani et al. [55] | 2014 | C | Italy | N = 35 | CL | 14–17 | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) and psychopathological symptoms | Families with female adolescents with eating disorders report a problematic family functioning, with anorexic daughters showing severe psychopathological symptoms |
| Lyke and Matsen [56] | 2013 | C | USA | N = 91 | R | 14–18 | Family functioning (problem-solving, communication, roles, affective involvement, or behavior control) | Unhealthy general functioning predicted adolescent problems |
| Goossens et al. [57] | 2012 | L | Belgium | N = 601 | R | 10–12 | Parent-child relationship (parental style and attachment) | Longitudinal association between parent-child relationships and eating pathology and weight gain in preadolescents. |
| Laghi et al. [58] | 2012 | P | Italy | N = 438 | R | 14–18 | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) and psychopathological symptoms | Family functioning predicts risk factors of eating disorders (binge eating disorder) |
| Hasenboehler et al. [59] | 2009 | C | Switzerland | N = 57 | R | 10–12 | Family structures (hierarchy, conflict, restrained eating) | Family structure is associated with overweight and with eating behavior |
| Neumark-Sztainer et al. [60] | 2009 | L | USA | N = 412 | HR | 14–18 | Family structures (family connectedness, body satisfaction, regular meals) | Family connectedness represents a protective factor for disordered eating among overweight adolescents |
| Laghi et al. [61] | 2017 | C | Italy | N = 72 | CL | Mean age 14.86 years | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) | Girls with anorexia nervosa poor satisfaction about family environment and rated their families as less communicative, flexible, cohesive, and more disengaged |
| Fisher and Bushlow [62] | 2015 | C | USA | N = 44 | CL | 14–18 | Family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) | A great majority of patients and parents reported their families as being connected/very connected |
| Haycraft et al. [63] | 2014 | C | UK | N = 528 | R | 13–15 | Family situation (perceptions of parental feeding practices) | An intense perceived pressure from parents to eat food and lower perceived parental responsibility for food are related to more unhealthy eating-related attitudes in female adolescents |
| Micali et al. [64] | 2014 | L | UK | N = 7082 | R | 13–15 | Family burden and psychological symptoms | An extreme level of fear of weight gain, avoidance of fattening foods, and distress about weight and shape were common among girls |
| Horesh et al. [65] | 2015 | C | Israel | N = 86 | R | 13–16 | Parent-child relationship (father-daughter relationship; parental style: bonds and protection) | A negative perception of the father’s parenting style is associated with eating disorders and depressive symptoms |
| Pilecki and Józefik [66] | 2013 | C | Poland | N = 112 | CL | 13–20 | Intergenerational family relationship (autonomy, intimacy) | A relevant association between daughters’ and fathers’ perceptions of autonomy in their families of origin was found (transgenerational transmission of autonomy and intimacy in eating disorders) |
| Ciao et al. [67] | 2015 | P | USA | N = 80 | CL | 15–18 | Family-based treatment and supportive psychotherapy | Treatments were found to be efficacious with respect to bulimic symptoms |
Notes: Design: L = Longitudinal study; C = Cross-sectional study; P = Prospective. Type of sample: R = Representative; CL = Clinical; HR = High Risk.