Parents of women affected by an eating disorder: Differences in empathy but not alexithymia [Genitori di donne affette da disturbo alimentare: Differenze di empatia, ma non di alessitimia]

Empathy and alexithymia constitute complex and relevant constructs in anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BU), with contrasting evidences at the family level. This study aims to explore the possible difference in these constructs by comparing 44 parents with anorexia nervosa daughters, 13 parents with bulimia nervosa daughters and 64 control parents by administering the TAS-20, the EQ and the RME. Regarding facial emotion recognition and empathy, between-group comparisons showed higher accuracy in the control group. Additionally, the difference is greater when AN parents and control parents are compared. This may suggest the presence of a deficient cognitive mechanism regarding emotion recognition, associated to the duration of illness. Alternatively, no between-group differences emerged in alexithymic levels, highlighting how this construct may be partially independent from empathy-related processes, as evidenced by the «Self to Others Model of Empathy» (SOME). These findings show the necessity of emotion-focused cognitive interventions in AN/BU parents with an aim to restore emotion recognition of facial expressions and empathy, especially in parents with AN daughters exhibiting a longer duration of illness. Further studies are required, adopting other methods to measure these complex constructs.