Mothers and fathers with Binge Eating Disorder and their 18-36 months old children: a longitudinal study on parent-infant interactions and offspring\u2019s emotional-behavioral profiles

Abstract

Maternal Binge Eating Disorder (BED) has been suggested to be associated with poor parent\u2013infant interactions during feeding and with children\u2019s 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 in\ufb02uence of BED diagnosis, in one or both parents, on parent\u2013infant feeding interactions and on children\u2019s emotional\u2013behavioral 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\u2013behavioral 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\u2013child feeding interactions and higher emotional\u2013behavioral dif\ufb01culties. A direct in\ufb02uence of parental psychiatric diagnosis on the quality of mother\u2013infant and father\u2013infant interactions was also found, both at T1 and T2. Moreover, dyadic feeding interactions mediated the in\ufb02uence of parental diagnosis on children\u2019s psychological functioning. The presence of BED diagnosis in one or both parents seems to in\ufb02uence the severity of maladaptive parent\u2013infant exchanges during feeding and offspring\u2019s emotional\u2013behavioral problems over time, consequently affecting different areas of children\u2019s psychological functioning. This is the \ufb01rst study to demonstrate the speci\ufb01c 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