The family context of nonorganic failure to thrive

Family influences on the etiology, clinical presentation, and prognosis of nonorganic failure to thrive are reviewed in terms of the effect of family economic resources, functioning, and child rearing beliefs on the availability and allocation of food; and of the role of dysfunctional family feeding and caretaking patterns in determining the child's response to food, maternal psychological adjustment, and the quality of mother-child interaction. Family centered approaches to intervention and research are discussed.