ABSTRACT
Focuses on family environments in households of women with eating disorders. Patterns of cohesion, talk about weight and appearance in the home, and family typologies are the main sections, followed by a discussion of what family conditions and in what combinations result in the outcome of eating disorders.
Since talk about weight and appearance is a central feature in the homes of women with eating disorders—though that discourse takes on different forms depending on the dynamics within the family—specific characteristics and traits are important elements of this discussion. In this chapter a typology of eating disordered families is discussed in detail. Two family types, Perfect and Overprotective, are the focus of this chapter.
