AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF MOTHERS WITH EATING DISORDERS AND THEIR INFANTS

Two groups of primiparous mothers and their infants were observed at h ome during play and at a mealtime when the infants were 12-14 months o ld. The index group consisted of mothers who had experienced an eating disorder during the postnatal year while the control group had been f ree from such psychopathology. The main findings were that, when compa red to controls, the index mothers were more intrusive with their infa nts during both mealtimes and play; and that they expressed more negat ive emotion towards their infants during mealtimes but not during play . There were, however, no differences between the groups in their posi tive expressed emotion. The index infants' emotional tone was generall y more negative and their mealtimes more conflictual compared to contr ols. Furthermore, the index infants tended to be lighter than controls and infant weight was found to be independently and inversely related to both the amount of conflict during mealtimes and the extent of the mother's concern about her own body shape.