Psychoeducation for Parents of Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa as a Supportive Treatment Approach

Sponsor
University Medical Centre Ljubljana
Study ID
NCT07178977
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Eating Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
11 Years - 19 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Psychoeducation group — BEHAVIORAL
    A structured, group-based psychoeducation program designed for parents of adolescents with anorexia nervosa. The intervention consists of four weekly sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, delivered in small groups (up to 7 families) at the Child Psychiatry Department, University Medical Centre Ljubljana. Each session follows a standardized structure. The session topics are: Understanding eating disorders; Maintaining factors in anorexia nervosa and strategies to address them; Establishing and supporting normal eating patterns, Promoting and sustaining change. The program is adapted from evidence-based approaches, including family-based treatment (FBT) and enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-E), and is tailored to a psychoeducational group format for parents. The aim is to reduce parental distress, improve coping, and enhance adolescent treatment outcomes (BMI, eating disorder symptoms, anxiety, depression).

Study Details

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effectiveness of a structured four-week psychoeducation program for parents of adolescents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN). The program aims to improve parental coping and improve adolescent treatment outcomes. Seventy adolescents with AN (ages 11-19) and their parents will be recruited at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia. Families will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group, receiving immediate psychoeducation, or a waitlist control group, receiving the program after one month. The psychoeducation program consists of four weekly 90-minute sessions covering eating disorder characteristics, maintaining factors, strategies for normal eating, and approaches for supporting change. Primary outcomes include change in adolescent body mass index (BMI) from baseline to post-intervention and three-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include adolescent symptoms of eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, as well as parental anxiety, depression, stress, social support, and self-efficacy. The study will test whether early, structured parental involvement through psychoeducation improves both adolescent clinical outcomes and parental coping.

Key Dates

First listed
Sep 17, 2025
Start date
Oct 1, 2025
Status verified
Sep 2025
Primary completion
Dec 1, 2027
Completion
Jun 1, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment
70 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Arms

  • Experimental: Experimental: Psychoeducation for parents of adolescents with anorexia nervosa
    Parents in the intervention group will participate in a structured four-week psychoeducation program designed to support families of adolescents with anorexia nervosa. The program consists of four weekly group sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, delivered at the Child Psychiatry Department, University Medical Centre Ljubljana. Each session follows a standardized format: (1) review of homework and discussion of experiences, (2) introduction of the session content, (3) structured psychoeducational module, and (4) assignment of new tasks.
  • Active Comparator: Waitlist control group
    Parents in the waitlist control group will continue with treatment as usual and will not participate in the psychoeducation program during the first month of the study. They will complete baseline and one-month assessments while waiting. After this one-month period, the waitlist group will receive the same structured four-week psychoeducation program as the intervention group.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in Adolescent Body Mass Index (BMI) [ Time Frame: Baseline (T1), Post-intervention (4 weeks, T2), Follow-up (3 months post-intervention, T3). ]

Central Contacts

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