Loredana Lucarelli

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• Full Professor of Dynamic Psychology
• Professor (Full) at University of Cagliari

Social support is the gratification of basic social needs (affection, belonging, esteem or approval, security, identity) through interaction with others. Social support at school allows students to perceive themselves as competent during learning and to enjoy school in general. Little is known about social support at school for students with sensor...

Background Experiencing Failure to Thrive or malnutrition in early years has been associated with children later displaying low Intelligence Quotient (IQ). The current study's aim was to examine whether Failure to Thrive in Toddlers with Lack of Interest in Eating and Food, a subtype of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder as defined by DSM-5,...

Aim. The objective of this paper is an empirical analysis of mother-infant feeding interactions through an observational instrument (Feeding Scale), which is applied to the videotape of a feeding session. Methods. Three samples of mothers and their children have been examined (104 couples with children ranging in age from 2 to 36 months: a first gr...

In the last decades, an increasing number of researchers addressed the relationship between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and severe visual impairment (SVI) (like blindness or very low visual acuity) and nowadays autism could be considered one of the most reported coexisting developmental disorders in children with blindness or other severe visua...

Background: Many studies have shown the influence of maternal perinatal depression on a child’s emotional and behavioral regulation ability; yet there is scarce research on the impact of the father’s perinatal depression on the caregiver–infant relationship and the child’s development. Methods: Through a longitudinal study, we investigated maternal...

This study investigates the principal risk and protective factors associated with student distress and school dropout in a group of preadolescents, through a qualitative and quantitative comparison between the perspectives of students, parents, and teachers. We administered a questionnaire to evaluate student distress and school dropout in a middle...

Background An insecure attachment style is an important risk factor for psychological problems. The aim of this study was to use Bartholomew and Horowitz’s model (Bartholomew and Horowitz in J Pers Soc Psychol 61(2): 226, 2019) to test a sample of Italian individuals to determine the mediation role of loneliness and COVID-19-related anxiety symptom...

Mentalizing is the ability to represent mental states to navigate the social world. A reduced mentalizing ability is a risk factor for a variety of psychological issues. Several studies indicated deficits in social cognition in bullies and victims, specifically in mentalizing anger. However, only a few studies investigated mentalizing abilities rel...

Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms have shown to be linked to higher internalizing and externalizing problems in their children. The dysfunctional affective communication that characterizes depressed parenting has also been analyzed as a potential traumatic cumulative phenomenon that may, consequently, yield to dissociation. In this research...

The quality of father-infant/toddler interactions has become a focal point in studies of early child development. However, studies targeting early father-infant/toddler interactions may be hampered due to the lack of specific and validated measures; indeed, most of the applied observational instruments were originally designed to evaluate mother-ch...

Background: This paper aimed to explore the associations between maternal representations of attachment evaluated during pregnancy, pre and postnatal maternal depression, parenting stress and child's attachment at 15 months after childbirth. Methods: Mothers (n = 71), and their infants participated in a longitudinal study of maternal attachment,...

Objective The present work aimed to evaluate the differences between fathers' and mothers' prenatal parental representations, the differences between pre- and postnatal perceptions of couple adjustment, and whether the quality of prenatal parental representations is associated with the perception of couple adjustment and with the perception of infa...

Background: Women with fibromyalgia (FM) commonly suffer from depression, pervasive fatigue, and pain. The attachment style has been hypothesized to be an important factor for understanding the experience of these symptoms. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study is aimed at investigating the effect of attachment styles in women with a diagno...

The present study aimed to investigate whether a mother’s anxiety, depression, prenatal perception of childbirth, and experience with delivery, assessed from pregnancy to three months postpartum, were associated with her perception of her infant’s negative affectivity (NA). The participant sample was composed of 76 primiparous mothers and their hea...

Objective Most studies investigating the role of parenting behaviors on a child’s development are directed to mothers. However, recent analyses show that mothers and fathers have a different influence on a child’s functioning, specifically her/his temperament. The present study explored the developmental change of parents’ perception of their daugh...

The current research aims to study the mediating role of alexithymia on the relationship between attachment to parents and peers and mental health problems in a sample of 242 non-referred adolescents. Participants completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Symptom Check List-90-R. Mediation analysi...

Objective Our study aimed to investigate the effects of a reflective parenting home visiting program in first time-mothers at risk for depression, anxiety, and parenting stress, from three to 12 months after their child's birth. Study design The sample was composed by 77 first-time mothers and their healthy babies (53% boys and 47% girls). Mothers...

Recently, the research on pain-related disability has increasingly paid attention to the psychological and social factors that may influence the biological condition. In the current study, we aimed to explore attachment styles, self-esteem, and quality of life in individuals with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Participants were 371 diagnosed women, w...

Objective Infant temperament is biologically determined. However, there is increasing proof that environmental factors may also have a relevant influence. The present study focuses on the role of parental reflective function (RF; Fonagy et al., 1998), that is, the psychological basis of emotion regulation. Methods RF was assessed in 40 low-risk fi...

La prospettiva evolutiva nel Manuale Diagnostico Psicodinamico (PDM-2) come opportunità per pro-muovere un dialogo interdisciplinare (doi: 10.1421/92992) Giornale italiano di psicologia (ISSN 0390-5349) Fascicolo 4, dicembre 2018 Ente di afferenza: UNIVERSITA STUDI CAGLIARI BIBLIOTECA (unicadm) Copyright c by Società editrice il Mulino, Bologna. Tu...

Abstract Studies show that being bullied during the developmental age is associated with a risk of depression; however, little research has focussed on the link between direct bullying and depressive risk. This study aims to explore, in a suburban at-risk area, the differences between girls and boys in verbal and physical bullying and the differen...

Aim: To evaluate different types and degrees of malnutrition over time in a sample of children diagnosed with Infantile Anorexia (IA), based on the DC:0-3R criteria, and recently defined by DSM-5 as the first subtype of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), and to investigate the relationship between children’s severity of malnutrition...

The Parent-Child Play Scale was developed as a scale that complements the Parent-Child Feeding Scale, created by I. Chatoor et al. (1997), to evaluate mother–infant/toddler interactions in two different caregiving contexts of a young child's everyday life, specifically play and feeding. This Play Scale can be used with infants and toddlers ranging...

Background The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20–25%, while 6–10% of expectant mothers report a severe fear that impairs their daily activities as well as their ability to cope with labour and childbirth. Research on fear of childbirth risk factors has produced heterogeneous results while being mostly do...

Objective: In the 1st year of the post-partum period, parenting stress, mental health, and dyadic adjustment are important for the wellbeing of both parents and the child. However, there are few studies that analyze the relationship among these three dimensions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between parenting stress, men...

Mother–infant interactions during feeding and play are pivotal experiences in the development of infants’ early social abilities (Stern, 1985, 1995; Biringen, 2000). Stern indicated distinctive characteristics of mother–infant interactions, respectively, during feeding and play, suggesting to evaluate both to better describe the complexity of such...

Infantile Anorexia (IA), defined by the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood Revised (DC: 0-3R, Zero To Three, 2005), occurs when the child (a) refuses to eat adequate amounts of food for at least 1 month, and shows growth deficiency, (b) does not communicate hunger and lacks interest...

Objective: Although there is an established link between parenting stress, postnatal depression, and anxiety, no study has yet investigated this link in first-time parental couples. The specific aims of this study were 1) to investigate whether there were any differences between first-time fathers’ and mothers’ postnatal parenting stress, anxiety,...

Recenti studi hanno mostrato come, all'origine dell'insorgenza e del mantenimento dei disturbi alimentari, possano esserci difficoltà precoci sottese al legame genitore-bambino - rilevabili fin dalla gravidanza - e che accompagnano poi l'individuo per tutto l'arco del ciclo di vita. Nell'affrontare le diverse problematiche alimentari che caratteriz...

Proceedings Abstract: Objectives: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in DSM-5 has replaced Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood in DSM-IV. It has expanded the earlier more limited diagnostic criteria by introducing 3 main categories and by applying the criteria to individuals of all ages. The new criteria describe an eatin...

Objective: The main aims of this perspective study were to investigate the co-occurrence of anxiety and depression during pregnancy, and to explore the existing link between prenatal depression and anxiety and the subsequent quality of feeding interaction shown by the dyad at three months of age of the baby. Methods: The data were collected in two...

Objectives: to evaluate first-time mothers’ and fathers’ anxiety/depression from pregnancy to 3 months postpartum, and to examine whether mother’s or father’s anxiety/depression, or both are associated with difficult infant’s temperament and distress in her/his role as parent. Methods: The sample is composed of 96 first-time mothers (MAge = 35.3, S...

Introduction: DC:0-3R identifies Infantile Anorexia (IA) by the child’s food refusal, lack of interest in eating and food, and growth deficiency. DSM-5 Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) recognized IA under Apparent lack of interest in eating or food subtype. ARFID replaced Feeding Disorders of Infancy or Early Childhood in DSM-IV, e...

A 5 Years Follow-Up Study on Treatment and Non-Treatment of Infantile Anorexia. Background: Infantile Anorexia (IA) is characterized by child’s food refusal, lack of interest in eating and food, and growth deficiency. Studies on IA found correlations among irregular feeding patterns, negative and willful behaviors by the toddlers, and mother–child...

The survey concerns the bibliometric analysis of the scientific productivity of the 8 Scientific Areas in which the Academic Italian System of Psychology is subdivided (Settori Scientifico-Disciplinari, SSD). To this end, data were retrieved from the Scopus (available at March 2012), one of the most internationally representative scientific databas...

This study investigated, in 36 dyads, the relationship between mother-child interactions during feeding and playing, through the «Feeding Scale» and «Play Scale», and socio-communicative abilities of young children in interaction with an unfamiliar adult in the course of a structured observation, through the «Early Social Communication Scales». The...

Abstract Background. Cross-sectional and longitudinal international studies have explored the relationship between bullying and depression, showing a close link between victimization and depression. CENSIS data in 2008 emphasize that in Italy 49.9% of parents indicate the occurrence of bullying in classroom attended by their children. Objectives....

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in DSM-5: How to Diagnose and Treat Objectives: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in DSM-5 has replaced Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood in DSM-IV. It has expanded the earlier more limited diagnostic criteria by introducing 3 main categories and by applying the criteria to indi...

Background - Cross-sectional and longitudinal international studies have explored the relationship between bullying and depression, showing a close link between victimization and depression. In 2008 CENSIS data emphasized that in Italy 49.9% of parents indicate the occurrence of bullying in the classes attended by their children. Objectives - The a...

Background - Cross-sectional and longitudinal international studies have explored the relationship between bullying and depression, showing a close link between victimization and depression. In 2008 CENSIS data emphasized that in Italy 49.9% of parents indicate the occurrence of bullying in the classes attended by their children. Objectives - The a...

The aim of this study was to investigate the mother-infant relationship in depressive, psychosocial, and cumulative-risk parenting by assessing prenatal and postnatal maternal representations and mother-infant interactions during feeding at 4 months of age. The sample consisted of 167 mother-infant pairs: 41 nonrisk women, 40 depressive-risk women,...

Introduction: Infantile Anorexia (IA), as Feeding Disorder subtype, is included in the DC:03R. More recently, DSM-5Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder describes the symptoms of IA under "Apparent Lack of Interest in Eating Subtype". Background of our study is the theory of attachment, which gave the framework for investigating the mother-chil...

Introduction The relevance of the early mother-child interactions for the development of the infants’ social communication is well documented, either during feeding or playing (Stern, 1995, 1998; Biringen, 2000). However, little is known about the influence of these interactions on the infants’ socio-communicative abilities per sè, namely without t...

Summary The authors present a review of clinical and research works on Infantile Anorexia (IA), defined by the revision of the Diagnostic Classification: 0-3. Research results are also reported in relation to a sample of 96 dyads, of which 37 mothers and their children (mean age=23.8 mesi) with a diagnosis of IA, 27 mothers at depressive risk and t...

This study aimed to investigate self-representations within the family and their effects on the development of adaptive skills in terms of personal and social autonomy. The target was a group of teenagers and young adults with Down Syndrome (DS), compared with a group of non-disabled individuals. The purposes of this study were: 1) to show a relati...

Objective: To date, few researches have investigated the impact that traumatic experiences to the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract could have during infancy. These events can give rise to a Post-Traumatic Feeding Disorder, characterized by an acute onset of severe child food refusal. Moreover, research so far has focused exclusively on mother-c...

Background: The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood-Revised (Zero-To-Three, 2005) introduced a classification of diagnostic subtypes of infantile feeding disorders. The recognition of specific subtypes may be useful to explore factors involved in the etiology, clinical course, and ch...

Background: Diagnostic Classification:0-3 Revised (Zero To Three, 2005) identifies different subtypes of feeding disorders in early childhood, including Infantile Anorexia (IA), characterized by child’s refusal, lack of interest in food and growth deficiency; food refusal does not follow a traumatic event and is not due to medical illness. In the n...

Introduction: DC:0-3, the manual of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, in the last revision (2005), included six feeding disorders. The DSM-5 Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) recognized three of the six FD in Zero To Three: Infantile Anorexia is under “lack of interest”, Sensory Food Aversions...

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the differences among three subtypes of feeding disorders (FD), defined through the criteria of the DC:0-3R: "Infantile Anorexia" (IA), "Feeding Disorder Associated with Insults to the Gastrointestinal Tract" (FDIGT), and "Sensory Food Aversions" (SFA), by exploring mother-child interactions during f...

Riassunto: Background teorico: all’interno della cornice teorico-clinica dell’Intersoggettività è stato ipotizzato che le caratteristiche e la qualità dello scambio diadico fra madre e bambino nei primi anni di vita siano influenzate negativamente dalle difficoltà emotive e psicologiche della madre e da stati della mente irrisolti rispetto a traumi...

Abstract: Theoretical Background: within the theoretical-clinical framework of intersubjectivity it has been hypothesized that the characteristics and the quality of the dyadic exchange between mother and child in the first years of life is negatively affected by the mother's emotional and psychological difficulties and states of mind with respect...

Abstract: Theoretical Background: within the theoretical-clinical framework of intersubjectivity it has been hypothesized that the characteristics and the quality of the dyadic exchange between mother and child in the first years of life is negatively affected by the mother's emotional and psychological difficulties and states of mind with respect...

To evaluate over time feeding behavior and emotional-behavioral functioning in a sample of children diagnosed with Infantile Anorexia (IA) and a group of typically developing children; and to investigate the relationship between maternal psychological functioning and the children's feeding patterns and emotional-behavioral functioning. Seventy-two...

ABSTRACT: Theoretical background: This paper reviews the most significant diagnostic systems for feeding disorders in infancy in the international scientific literature. We examined the contribution of specific proposals for classification. The limits of the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IVTR appeared evident in its poor specificity, and inability...

ABSTRACT: Background: Zero-to-Three Classification enlightens that children with infantile anorexia show a persistent food refusal, do not express clear signals of hunger/satiety, while they are intensely involved in the interaction with the caregiver (Zero-to-Three, 2005). Objective: Given the paucity of empirical researches on feeding difficultie...

THE POST-TRAUMATIC FEEDING DISORDER IN INFANCY: A COMPARISON OF THREE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAYS Background: the Post-Traumatic Feeding Disorder (PTFD) is characterized by a consistent food refusal after one or more traumatic insults to the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract (e.g. chocking, severe vomiting, insertion of nasogastric tube)....

Hostile-helpless maternal mental states and quality of mother-infant interaction in a group of children at risk for maltreatment. The research involved 20 mother-child dyads at risk for maltreatment with the purpose to evaluate the impact of maternal Hostile/Helpless states of mind upon the quality of interactive patterns. The mothers were assessed...

Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Traumatic Stress - Human Rights & Psychotraumatology, Vienna, Austria, 2-5 June 2011. Rationale for the Use of the CECA Measures as Preferred Tools for Research on the Relationship between Child Abuse/Neglect and Adult Psychopathology Objectives: Research focusing on the role played by child abuse/ne...

This empirical study has its main object in highlighting the role of mother-child interactive experiences in the development of affective and communicative exchanges in infancy. The study analyzed four groups of mother-child couples with children who presented a Specific Language Disorder (SLD) the first, a Feeding Disorder (FD) the second, the thi...

“Infantile Post-traumatic Feeding Disorder and Infantile Anorexia: A Clinical Evaluation on Maternal and Child Risk Psychopathological Factors”. Loredana Lucarelli, Silvia Cimino, Dione Zavaroni, Massimo Ammaniti Introduction: The Post-traumatic Feeding Disorder has been introduced to define clinical evidence characterized by intense anticipatory...

ABSTRACT: Aim: Here we present a preliminary study referred to clinical data on infantile feeding disorders which have been inserted and elaborated through the computational system Prince - PRogram for INformatic Clinical Evaluation (WinServ, 2005). This software has been developed on the basis of criteria of Zero-To-Three Diagnostic Classification...

This study has the following aims: 1. To point out a higher rate of insecure and/or disorganized attachment patterns in the mother-child dyads with a diagnosis of infantile anorexia, as compared to a control group; 2. To show a concordance with respect to security/insecurity between the mother’s and the child’s attachment quality in a group of...

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. The sample consisted of 371 mother-child pairs (children aged 6-36 months), of which 187 pairs of mothers and normally developing childr...

Background: While in the last 5 years several studies have been conducted in Italy on the prevalence of mental disorders in adults, to date no epidemiological study has been targeted on mental disorders in adolescents. Method: A two-phase study was conducted on 3,418 participants using the child behavior checklist/6-18 (CBCL) and the development...

Nella cornice teorica della psicologia dinamica e clinica dello sviluppo, il testo Metodi e Strumenti di Valutazione in Psicopatologia dello Sviluppo offre una trattazione critica e aggiornata dei principali strumenti di valutazione del bambino in epoca prescolare e scolare: scale di sviluppo, di osservazione dell’interazione genitore-bambino e di...

Nella cornice teorica della psicologia dinamica e clinica dello sviluppo, il testo Metodi e Strumenti di Valutazione in Psicopatologia dello Sviluppo offre una trattazione critica e aggiornata dei principali strumenti di valutazione del bambino in epoca prescolare e scolare: scale di sviluppo, di osservazione dell’interazione genitore-bambino e di...

RIASSUNTO. L’obiettivo del contributo di ricerca si è rivolto alla valutazione della qualità del sistema di caregiving in presenza di variabili rischio psicosociale. Mediante un’apposita Scheda Anamnestica e Sociodemografica, sono state selezionate 20 coppie a rischio psicosociale e 20 coppie di controllo. L’età media dei bambini è di 24.7 mesi; l’...

RIASSUNTO: Obiettivo: nella cornice teorica e di ricerca della Classificazione Diagnostica: 0-3, nella sua ultima revisione, gli Autori presentano uno studio empirico sui disturbi del sonno nella prima infanzia, indagando i fattori di rischio nella relazione di caregiving e nello sviluppo emotivo del bambino. Metodologia: in un gruppo di madri e di...

SUMMARY This prospective longitudinal study examines a transactional and multirisk model for Infantile Anorexia based on evolutive and relational theory. Only very little empirical information is available on the links between failure to thrive in infancy and the subsequent development of eating disorders and only a few studies have addressed the s...

The Italian preadolescent mental health project (PrISMA – Progetto Italiano Salute Mentale Adolescenti) is the first Italian study designed to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in preadolescents (10–14 years old) living in urban areas, and to analyse the demographic and biological correlates of emotional and behavioural problems. This pap...