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.
Adolescents aged 11-19 years
Clinical diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN) according to DSM-5 criteria
Referred for treatment at the Child Psychiatry Department, Pediatric Clinic, University Medical Centre Ljubljana
At least one parent/legal guardian willing to participate in the psychoeducation program
Adolescents with severe comorbid psychiatric conditions requiring alternative treatment (e.g., psychosis, severe intellectual disability, active substance dependence)
Adolescents or parents unable to understand Slovenian language sufficiently to participate in group sessions or complete questionnaires
Families already engaged in a structured psychoeducation or similar parent-support program at the time of recruitment
University Medical Centre Ljubljana
Lead sponsor
University of Ljubljana
Collaborator