Unlike the mother-daughter bond, the father-daughter relationship has received little attention in eating disorders (ED). This study with clinical-qualitative method aimed to understand how parents of young people with ED experienced the bonds with their parental figures during childhood/adolescence and, later, with their wives and daughters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five parents whose daughters were in treatment. The results were analyzed using the Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis and the Psychoanalysis of Linking Configurations. The father-daughter relationship was marked by affective closeness in childhood, although with little involvement in caregiving tasks. The affective distancing, starting in the daughter’s pubertal period, contributed to weaken the paternal bond. The results provide subsidies for the inclusion of fathers in the treatment.
Key words:
Eating disorders; father-child relations; parenting; psychoanalysis of linking configurations