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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Maternal psychopathology and child risk factors in infantile anorexia
Massimo Ammaniti1, Loredana Lucarelli, Silvia Cimino
1Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Roma, Italy. massimo.ammaniti@uniroma1.it
Objective:
This study examines a transactional and multirisk model for Infantile Anorexia (IA) and investigates the contributions of the parent, the child, and dyadic interactional variables related to this feeding disorder.
Method:
The sample consisted of 371 mother-child pairs (children aged 6-36 months), of which 187 pairs of mothers and normally developing children (ND-group), and 184 mothers and IA children. All dyads were videotaped during feeding; mothers completed questionnaires assessing their psychological profiles and eating attitudes, as well as their children's temperament and emotional/ behavioral functioning.
Results:
Analyses revealed that the IA-group showed higher scores in symptomatic characteristics both of the mother and of the child, and dysfunctional interactions during feeding as compared with the ND-group. Further analyses revealed that both child and maternal characteristics are significant predictors of dyadic interactional conflict.
Discussion:
Results confirm that a multidimensional assessment is critical in the evaluation of IA.
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