Mothers and Fathers with Binge Eating Disorder and Their 18–36 Months Old Children: A Longitudinal Study on Parent–Infant Interactions and Offspring’s Emotional–Behavioral Profiles

Abstract

Maternal Binge Eating Disorder (BED) has been suggested to be associated with poor parent–infant interactions during feeding and with children’s emotional and behavioral problems during infancy (Blissett and Haycraft, 2011). The role of fathers has received increasing consideration in recent years, yet the research has not focused on interactional patterns between fathers with BED and their children. The present study aimed to longitudinally investigate the influence of BED diagnosis, in one or both parents, on parent–infant feeding interactions and on children’s emotional–behavioral functioning. 612 subjects (408 parents; 204 children), recruited in mental health services and pre-schools in Central Italy, were divided into four groups: Group 1 included families with both parents diagnosed with BED, Group 2 and 3 included families with one parent diagnosed with BED, Group 0 was a healthy control. The assessment took place at T1 (18 months of age of children) and T2 (36 months of age of children): feeding interactions were assessed through the Scale for the Assessment of Feeding Interactions (SVIA) while child emotional–behavioral functioning was evaluated with the Child Behavior Check-List (CBCL). When compared to healthy controls, the groups with one or both parents diagnosed with BED showed higher scores on the SVIA and on the CBCL internalizing and externalizing scales, indicating poorer adult–child feeding interactions and higher emotional–behavioral difficulties. A direct influence of parental psychiatric diagnosis on the quality of mother–infant and father–infant interactions was also found, both at T1 and T2. Moreover, dyadic feeding interactions mediated the influence of parental diagnosis on children’s psychological functioning. The presence of BED diagnosis in one or both parents seems to influence the severity of maladaptive parent–infant exchanges during feeding and offspring’s emotional–behavioral problems over time, consequently affecting different areas of children’s psychological functioning. This is the first study to demonstrate the specific effects of maternal and paternal BED on infant development. These results could inform prevention and intervention programs in families with one or both parents diagnosed with BED.

Mother- and father-infant feeding interactions in families with parents with BED

“…The results of the current study show also within our sample a high prevalence of children's emotional-behavioural problems and of maladaptive interactive exchange between parents and offspring. Overall, our findings are consistent with previous research in showing high rates of psychopathological symptoms in children of parents with psychiatric diagnosis, suggesting a negative effect of parental eating disorders on their offspring's mental health (Cerniglia et al, 2014;Cimino et al, 2015;Cimino et al, 2016a 110 relationship between parents diagnosed with BED and their children at 36 months, our data are consistent with those of previous studies that argued that psychiatric disease in parents lead to offspring's uneasiness, which could crystalize into early psychopathological symptoms (Cimino et al, 2015;Cimino et al, 2016a). Even more so, findings in the current study turn out to be very important in relation to child mental health, since early children's emotional and behavioural difficulties in the first years of life tend to increase overtime (Ammaniti, Lucarelli, Cimino, D'Olimpio & Chatoor, 2012;Cimino et al, 2016b;Cimino et al, 2015).…”

“…Indeed, to our knowledge, only few study investigated the role of father's psychopathological profiles on onset and maintenance of emotional behavioural problems in offspring, focusing on parent-infant daily interactions (Cerniglia, Cimino, & Ballarotto, 2014;Cimino et al, 2016a;Cimino, Cerniglia, & Paciello, 2015).…”

Empirical study on parental eating disorders and child development

“…However, to date research has mainly focused on parental eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, whereas much less studies have investigated the specific diagnosis of binge eating disorder (BED) in mothers and fathers (Ammaniti et al, 2012;Blissett & Haycraft, 2011;Cimino et al, 2016b;Fassino, Amianto, & Abbate-Daga, 2009). Indeed, the majority of works have paid much attention to the negative influence of parental eating disorders on child outcomes, while, to our knowledge, relatively little attention has been given to an analysis of the binge eating disorders (BEDs) in mothers, fathers or both, and on its impact on infant's psychopathology.…”

“…Cimino et al (2016b) have recently found that children of one or both parents with BED psychopathology are more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioural problems, compared to healthy controls. Overall, according to the authors, having both parents with BED involves greater risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems for offspring (Cimino et al, 2016b).…”

Psychopathological Risk in Parentally Bereaved Adolescents

“…Specifically, dissociative experiences appear to be related to the subject's difficulty to integrate the experience of the definitive parting from the caregiver, whilst eating disorders seem to be associated with a reduced ability to regulate negative emotions through metacognitive processes (Schmidt, Humfress, & Treasure, 1997;Cimino, Cerniglia, Paciello, & Sinesi, 2012). The transitional theoretical framework suggests that the emotional adjustment of children who have suffered parental death can be influenced by his/her protective resources and negative events that the child has to face following the bereavement (Haine, Ayers, Sandler, & Wolchik, 2008;Tambelli, Cimino, Cerniglia, & Ballarotto, 2015a;Cimino et al, 2016).…”