Family Functioning and Family Stage Associated with Patterns of Disordered Eating in Adult Females Terry Bowles, 1 Martine Kurlender 2 and Bridie Hellings 3 1 University of Melbourne, Australia 2 Australian Catholic University, Australia 3 The Priory Hospital, North London, United Kingdom This study investigated family functioning, family stage and eating disorder risk. A sample of 140 females (aged 18–59) completed a family functioning questionnaire (ICPS) and the Eating Disorder Risk scale (EDI-3). Consistent with previous research, cluster analysis identified two profiles of family functioning: an authoritative style (high intimacy and high democratic parenting, with low conflict) and an authoritarian cluster (elevated conflict scores and significantly lower intimacy and democratic parenting). The second independent variable of family stage comprised two groups: females living in their family of origin and those living in their family of choice. The ANOVA showed no interaction involving family functioning cluster and family stage. A main effect showed that participants in the authoritarian cluster experienced significantly more drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms, body dissatisfaction and eating disorder risk. There was no difference in eating disorder risk between females living at home or those in the family of choice. The findings have implications for therapists in demonstrating that independence from the family of origin does not prompt natural recovery from eating disorder tendencies. The findings provide some further evidence of the association between specific elements of family functioning (intimacy, conflict and democratic parenting) with eating disorder risk. ❚ Keywords: family functioning, eating disorder risk, conflict, intimacy, democratic parenting, family of origin, family of choice The incidence of eating disorders is ever increasing and while more research is being dedicated to this area there is no consensus as to the aetiology of eating disorders (Phelps & Bajorek, 1991). There is also some disagreement in the literature about the role of families in the development of patterns of disordered eating (e.g., Le Grange, Lock, Loeb, & Nicholls, 2010). Despite this, there is considerable literature indicating that there are common patterns of functioning within families of diagnosed sufferers of eating disorders (clinical families) that are distinct from the patterns of family functioning in nonclinical families (Casper & Zachery, 1984; Laliberte, Boland, & Leichner, 1999; Lattimore, Wagner, & Gowers, 2000; Stern, Dixon, Jones, Lake, ❚ 47 The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist Volume 28 | Issue 1 | 2011 | pp. 47–60 | DOI 10.1375/aedp.28.1.47 Address for correspondence: Terry Bowles, Postgraduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010. E-mail: tbowles@ballarat.edu.au