ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research on the influence of cultural aspects of expressed emotion (EE) in the context of eating disorders. EE refers to emotional attitudes (positive and negative) that a key family member expresses toward his or her ill relative. It has been demonstrated worldwide to be a powerful predictor of prognosis in mental disorders and physical illnesses and is a very influential construct in eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), especially by its effects as a maintaining factor. Evidence of research on EE across different national and ethnic groups suggests that the nature and meaning of its components are understood to be culturally specific. Culture determines whether EE is a prominent part of the emotional response among family members, the specific content or target of their components, and the factors influencing EE levels. This chapter describes research focused on cultural variability in EE, including cultural differences in conceptions and key features for its understanding, and the limitations in the existing culturally focused research on EE. Furthermore, a review of studies focused on the role of culture in the development of eating disorders and the existing research on cultural differences of EE in eating disorders is presented.
