Emotional characteristics of mothers of children admitted with anorexia complaint

Aim: It is aimed to compare the emotional characteristics of the mother and the emotional characteristics of the mother mostly in the families of children with no appetite. Material and Methods: Among the children who came to the outpatient clinic for routine checks, mothers of 56 first consecutive children between the ages of 3-8 who had been suffering from anorexia for the last three months were included in the study. The first 39 consecutive healthy children were taken as the control group. A personal information form, Eating Attitude Test (EAT), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and Family Assessment Device (FAD) that measures anxiety levels were given to all mothers who agreed to participate in the study. Results: There was no difference between the control group and the mothers of children with anorexia in terms of EAT, STAI and BDI. According to the BSI scores of the mothers of children with anorexia, depression and anxiety symptom levels were found to be higher than in the control group (p<0.05). The scheme of abandonment from the subtests of YSQ was found to be different between the case and the control group (p=0.041). According to the subtests of FAD, it was determined that the mothers of children with anorexia had problems with family functions, problem solving, communication and roles. Discussion: We suggest that all family members should be involved, especially in communication, roles and problem solving in the family. In the anorexia problem, especially the approach in which the child and father will be evaluated is especially useful.