Background: Several studies have suggested that maternal eating disorders (EDs) represent a significant risk factor for children's affective and behavioral development. Yet, little emphasis has been placed on the paternal role.
Objectives: The present longitudinal study aimed to clarify the role of maternal EDs and the influence of paternal psychological profiles on children's emotional development.
Method: Our sample was composed of N = 64 families with firstborn children selected through preschools, primary schools, and outpatient clinics in central Italy. Parents and children participated in a 6-year longitudinal protocol that included a diagnostic interview conducted by clinicians (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders [SCID-I]), a self-report (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised [SCL-90-R]), and a parental report-form questionnaire (Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]).
Results: The influence of mothers' EDs on their children's emotional development was confirmed. Moreover, fathers' anxiety and obsessive-compulsive problems in association with mothers' EDs and depressive symptoms influenced the onset of both internalizing and externalizing difficulties in their children over time.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that fathers' psychopathological risk affects the development of emotional problems in children with mothers who have EDs.
Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.