Background
Anorexia nervosa is a serious, albeit common mental illness that generally occurs during adolescence. Although outpatient care is recommended, hospitalisation is sometimes required. There is a dedicated hospitalisation unit caring for children and adolescents presenting with anorexia nervosa in Nancy, France. However, on 16 March 2020, a national lockdown was declared by the French government as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated in France. This resulted in the adjustment of hospital admissions accompanied by premature discharge and an intensive outpatient care programme. In the light of such changes, consideration should be given to the potential impact of changes in the care pattern for anorexic patients and their parents. The purpose of our study was to explore the experiences of anorexia nervosa patients hospitalised in the unit, and their parents, following changes in the care strategy.
Methods
The study was conducted between weeks four and eight after lockdown was announced. The study cohort included all the patients treated for anorexia nervosa and hospitalised in the treatment unit before 16 March 2020 and their parents. A qualitative method was used and every subject was offered a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed by means of inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Seven superordinate themes were identified: positive aspects, concerns, preparation, loss of landmarks and hospital security, gradual return to a “normal” life, relational aspects and the likelihood of disease progression. Moreover, all the parents and patients were satisfied with the intensive outpatient care offered on discharge.
Conclusion
Despite initial ambivalence, all patients and their parents viewed this unexpected hospital discharge positively in these exceptional conditions. This suggests that restructuring the care programme could prove beneficial with increasing use of outpatient management, thereby reducing the length of the hospital stay and adjusting the return to school.
Trial registration: ID-RCB 2020-A01101-38—This project was approved by the Comité de Protection des Personnes (CPP) Sud Méditerranée IV [South Mediterranean IV Ethics Committee (EC)] on 5 May 2020.
Background: The Inventory of Parental Representations (IPR), a self-administered questionnaire, was developed primarily to identify styles of attachment in adolescence. However, it did not present stable psychometric properties in the various American studies carried out. The aim of this study was to adapt the IPR in French and to provide a shorter version with improved psychometric properties and sound content.Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation and content validity were carried out based on qualitative analysis by an Expert Committee and 10 non-clinical adolescents. For the quantitative analyses a cohort of 535 adolescent volunteers was enrolled, corresponding to 1070 responses, and divided into two groups: development and validation. The study of the metric properties of the adapted version of the IPR was realized in the development group, a sample of 275 responses. In case of mediocre results in the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the development of a new and reduced IPR structure was planned using a mixed method including Classical Test Theory and Rasch Modelling in the development group. Subsequently, the study of the psychometric properties of the short, adapted version was confirmed in an independent sample of 795 responses (validation group). Results: Out of 62 items translated, 13 needed adaptations. The analysis of their metric properties produced mediocre results. Content and psychometric property analyses generated two Short version of the IPR in the development group: a paternal scale for Fathers (Short IPRF) with 15 items and a maternal scale for Mothers (Short IPRM) with 16 items. The sound content and good psychometric properties were confirmed in the validation group (Short IPRF: Comparative Fit Index =0.987, Tucker-Lewis Index =0.982, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation =0.027; Short IPRM: Comparative Fit Index =0.953, Trucker-Lewis Index =0.927, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation =0.068). Using Rasch modelling, the attachment was correctly measured overall especially for insecure attachment. Conclusions: A step-by-step process involving led to the generation of two questionnaires: a paternal scale, the Short IPRF, and a maternal scale with the Short IPRM providing opportunities to use this self-questionnaire to assess attachment among adolescents. Further work will provide a solid rating for this new tool.
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