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Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
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Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design

Published on: May 31, 2021

Physical and emotional development, appetite and body image in adolescents who failed to thrive as infants

R F Drewett1, S S Corbett, C M Wright

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Durham, UK. r.f.drewett@durham.ac.uk

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
|May 5, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Infants who experienced failure to thrive (FTT) showed no adverse emotional development by age twelve. This study tracked physical growth and psychological well-being in children with and without FTT history.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Pediatric Health
  • Psychological Sequelae

Background:

  • Previous research indicates potential long-term adverse effects of failure to thrive (FTT) in infancy.
  • While cognitive outcomes are studied, other developmental aspects of FTT require more systematic investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically investigate the long-term developmental outcomes beyond cognition in children with a history of infant failure to thrive.
  • To compare physical growth, eating behaviors, body image, anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues between children with and without a history of FTT.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study following 89 children with infant FTT and 91 controls until age twelve.
  • Utilized anthropometric measurements, self-report questionnaires (appetite, body image, eating behavior, self-perception, anxiety, mood), and parent/teacher reports (behavioral checklist).

Main Results:

  • Children with infant FTT were significantly shorter, lighter, and had lower BMIs at age twelve.
  • FTT group reported lower appetite relative to peers, higher body image satisfaction, and lower dietary restraint.
  • No significant differences were found in anxiety, depression, or self-esteem between the FTT and control groups.

Conclusions:

  • Infant failure to thrive is not associated with adverse emotional development or behavioral problems in childhood.
  • Physical growth differences persist at age twelve, but emotional and psychological well-being appears unaffected by early FTT.
Abstract

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