Fundamental Biobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying the Integrated Development of Emotion, Attachment, and Nutritive Intake in the Mother-Infant Dyad

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying the biobehavioral mechanisms involved in the development of emotion, attachment, and eating behaviors within the mother-infant relationship. This study focuses on how these systems relate to maternal feeding habits, child eating behavior, dietary intake, and body fat in young children. Participation requires that the infant is also part of a long-term observational study (NCT06039878). The study involves 150 children enrolled from the observational study, all participating in a behavioral task called "Eating in the Absence of Hunger." During this task, researchers provide the child with free access to tasty foods after they have eaten a full meal to observe their eating behavior. This interventional task is conducted when the children are around 18 and 36 months old. Throughout the study, researchers collect data on the children's calorie intake up to approximately 36 months of age. Only data from the children is collected in this trial, separate from the ongoing observational study involving both mothers and children. Participants will be monitored as part of the long-term observational research to better understand the development of eating behaviors and related emotional and attachment systems in early childhood.

Mother-Baby Study - Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH)