Girls who suffer from bulimia have better cure rates if therapy involves their families, according to a new study from the University of Chicago.
Bulimia is the act of gorging on food and then vomiting to avoid weight gain. Between one and two percent of the population suffers from bulimia.
Dr. Daniel LeGrange divided eighty bulimic girls ages 12 to 19 years into two groups. One group participated in individual therapy, and the other attended family therapy sessions. After twenty sessions, almost 40% of the first group of girls stopped their bulimic behaviors compared to 18% of those in individual therapy. Six months later, those rates were 30% in the first group and only 10% in the second group.
"Families have been seen as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution," Dr. LeGrange said. "This study builds on work that shows no one cares or loves adolescents more than their parents."
The study appears in the Archives of General Psychology.