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A prospective study of the influence of eating‐disordered mothers on their children
Author(s) -
Agras Stewart,
Hammer Lawrence,
McNicholas Fiona
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199904)25:3<253::aid-eat2>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - offspring , disordered eating , psychology , developmental psychology , affect (linguistics) , eating disorders , pediatrics , pregnancy , medicine , clinical psychology , biology , genetics , communication
Objective This study examined the effects of eating disordered mothers on their children. Method Women with a past or present eating disorder (ED; N = 41) and non‐eating disordered women (NED); N = 153)) and their offspring were followed prospectively. Results Female infants of ED mothers sucked significantly faster and were weaned 9 months later than offspring of NED mothers. ED mothers fed their children on a less regular schedule, used food for nonnutritive purposes, and demonstrated significantly higher concern about their daughters' weight than NED mothers from 2 years of age onward. At 5 years, the offspring of ED mothers were reported to demonstrate greater negative affect than the offspring of NED mothers. Discussion The female offspring of ED mothers demonstrate a high avidity for feeding early in life which, combined with increased maternal concern over their daughters weight and the use of food for nonnutritive purposes, may pose a serious risk for the later development of an eating disorder. © 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 25: 253–262, 1999.