ABSTRACT
There has been a wealth of research on expressed emotion (EE) in eating disorders over the past 30 years; however, gaps in our knowledge remain. This chapter reviews opportunities for future research that have been identified by the book’s contributors. This includes further identifying the mechanisms of action by which high levels of EE lead to poor treatment outcome, treatment dropout, and relapse. EE across various stages of illness should be explored, as should EE in a variety of dyads, including EE from patients toward caregivers, and EE from healthcare providers toward patients. There is also a need for further research on eating disorders other than anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, including binge eating disorder, avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorders. The study of EE provides a rich source of material for both research and clinical work, and future research will further our understanding of this important construct.
