Publications by authors named "Ellen Auer-Welsbach"

Objective: We aimed to evaluate longitudinal changes in set-shifting and central coherence in a predominantly adolescent cohort with anorexia nervosa (AN) and to explore whether these factors predict long-term eating disorder outcomes.

Method: Ninety-two female patients with AN (mean age: 16.2, range: 13-21 years) completed neurocognitive tests (Rey Complex Figure Test, Adapted Version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) before and after 12 months of psychotherapeutic treatment (n = 45 Maudsley AN Treatment, MANTRa; n = 47 standard psychotherapy; groups not randomised).

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Article Synopsis
  • Research on fathers' involvement in treating adolescent anorexia nervosa is limited; this study compares mothers' and fathers' experiences and effectiveness in a parental skills training program.
  • * The study included 91 parent pairs who completed an 8-week skills training, measuring factors like psychological distress and caregiver skills before and after the program.
  • * Results indicated that fathers generally experienced less psychological and emotional burden than mothers, and both parents benefited similarly from the training, although fathers showed slightly less commitment to practice what they learned.
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Objective: The aim of this study was examining the efficacy of the Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults (MANTRa) compared to individual psychotherapy that can be considered as standard in Austria (TAU-O).

Method: In this cohort study, 92 patients between 13 and 21 years suffering from full-syndrome, atypical or weight-restored anorexia nervosa (AN) received either 24-34 individual MANTRa sessions (n = 45) or TAU-O (n = 47). Outcome variables were age- and sex-related BMI, eating disorder and comorbid psychopathology at 6-, 12- and 18-month post baseline as well as acceptability of treatment and therapeutic alliance.

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Objective: To compare different aspects of caregiving distress and experience in parents of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Three cohorts of parents of AN patients (cohort 1-pre-pandemic: N = 78, cohort 2-first pandemic year: N = 51, cohort 3-second pandemic year: N = 119) were recruited from child and adolescent psychiatry wards and cross-sectionally assessed as part of the clinical routine. Quantitative measures of psychological distress, psychopathology, eating disorder (ED)-related burden, expressed emotion and caregiver skills were obtained at the beginning of the child's inpatient or outpatient treatment.

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Skills trainings for caregivers of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been proven to be effective in improving caregiver skills and reducing caregivers' psychopathology. The effects on patients, especially adolescents, are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a caregivers' skills training program (Supporting Carers of Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders in Austria, SUCCEAT, workshop or online version) on adolescents with AN delivered as workshops (WS) or online (ONL).

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Background: The treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) is often challenging due to medical complications as well as high relapse and mortality rates. Studies about effective treatment options for people with AN are particularly scarce in the adolescent population. This paper is a study protocol for a multi-center cohort study assessing the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of a new, manualized treatment program, the "Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adolescents and Young Adults" (MANTRa) compared to psychotherapeutic treatment as usual (TAU).

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Objective: To investigate acceptance, reliability, convergent validity, factor structure and sensitivity to change of a German translation of the Caregiver Skills (CASK) scale measuring skills related to caring for patients with eating disorders.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three parents (76% female) of adolescent patients (mean age 15.1) with anorexia nervosa (AN) completed the 27 items of the CASK.

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High expressed emotion (EE) is common in caregivers of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and associated with poorer outcome for patients. In this study, we examined the prevalence of high EE in caregivers of adolescents with AN and analyzed predictors for EE using multivariate linear regression models. We further analyzed whether EE is reduced by the "Supporting Carers of Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders in Austria" (SUCCEAT) intervention using general linear mixed models and whether a reduction of EE predicts patients' outcomes.

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Interventions for main carers of adult patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) can reduce the caregiving burden and increase caregiver skills. However, the effectiveness and feasibility for carers of adolescent patients, the optimal form of the intervention and long-term outcomes are largely unknown. We evaluated the efficacy and feasibility of the "Supporting Carers of Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders in Austria" (SUCCEAT) workshop vs.

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