Impact of Parental Binge Eating Disorder: Exploring Children's Emotional/Behavioral Problems and the Quality of Parent–child Feeding Interactions

Abstract

This study examines psychopathological problems in children of parents with binge eating disorder (BED), particularly the effect of parental diagnosis on their offspring's psychopathology and the mediating power of the quality of parent-infant feeding interactions. Two hundred parents and their offspring were administered a questionnaire for the assessment of their children's psychopathology at 18 (T1) and 36 (T2) months of age. An observational measure to evaluate feeding interactions was administered at T1. Children with both parents with BED showed the highest affective, anxiety, oppositional/defiant, and autism spectrum problems, but no influence of paternal diagnosis was found on the offspring's psychopathology. Maternal BED had an influence on children's affective and autism spectrum problems, and diagnosis of BED in both parents had an effect on infants' affective problems. Paternal BED had an effect on oppositional/defiant problems through the quality of father-infant interactions, and maternal BED had an effect on the offspring's affective and anxiety problems through the mediation of mother-infant interactions. These results suggest the importance of intervention programs focusing both on parental psychopathology and on mother-child and father-child feeding interactions in families with parents with BED.

Eating disorders mothers and their children: a systematic review of the literature

“…Of the studies in this domain, five specifically investigated psychological/emotional development (Barbin et al 2002 ; Cimino et al 2016 , 2013 , 2015 ; Sadeh-Sharvit et al 2016b ) and seven explored general psychopathology (Barona et al 2016 ; Cimino et al 2018 ; Evans and le Grange 1995 ; Hodes et al 1997 ; Micali et al 2014a , 2014b ; Reba-Harrelson et al 2010 ).…”

Emotional-Behavioral Functioning, Maternal Psychopathologic Risk and Quality of Mother–Child Feeding Interactions in Children with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

“…Moreover, it provides a Total score (that consisted in the sum of the four subscales), used as a general measure of the quality of mother-child feeding interaction. Scores over 50 are indices of clinical scores [44,45]. The SVIA showed a good reliability in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.79-0.96).…”

“…Our study has some limitations. In fact, many studies have highlighted the kay role assumed also by paternal psychological functioning [66][67][68] and the quality of father-children relationship [26,45]especially in the context of child feeding practices [69]-in shaping children's emotional-behavioral development and feeding problems [70]. However, we did not evaluate the role played by fathers, in terms of their psychopathologic risk and the quality of father-child feeding interactions, which it will be useful to explore in future research.…”

Emotional-Behavioral Regulation, Temperament and Parent–Child Interactions Are Associated with Dopamine Transporter Allelic Polymorphism in Early Childhood: A Pilot Study

“…Clinicians and researchers within an ecological-transactional perspective of development [3] have identified specific risk domains among early childhood, including parental characteristics (i.e., personality characteristics, psychopathological risk, etc.) [4][5][6][7][8], the quality of the parent-child relationship (e.g., attachment, dyadic interactions) [9][10][11][12][13], the child's individual characteristics (e.g., temperament, cognitive abilities, emotional-behavioral functioning, etc.) [14][15][16], and the inherited genetic features (i.e., polymorphic and/or epigenetic variations within specific genes) [17][18][19][20][21].…”

“…Specifically, in the case of evocative rGEs, specific genetically influenced characteristics and behaviors of the child (e.g., temperament traits, emotional-behavioral functioning) tend to elicit certain types of response from the environment (e.g., the quality of their parental-filial interactions) [80,81]. However, to date, although many studies have highlighted the key role assumed also by the quality of the mother-child relationship in shaping children's emotional-behavioral development [8][9][10]13], no studies have yet explored possible associations of the quality of father-child interactions with children's DAT1 genotype. Moreover, the quality of parent-child interactions during feeding has not yet been evaluated, although the research has amply highlighted the central role played by DA in the regulation on feeding behaviors [34,35].…”