ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to test whether the development of executive function in young children could add to the explained variance in child ritualistic behavior beyond child and maternal traits previously found to have explanatory power. Routinized, ritualistic behavior is common and normative in young children between the ages of 2 and 5, after which it subsides. In this cross-sectional study, maternal reports on 1345 children between the ages of 2 and 6 included child variables such as temperament, fears, and behavioral problems. Mother's characteristics included perfectionism, her attachment style, and trait anxiety. The sample included ultra-orthodox families, an understudied minority, and thus it was possible to compare their ritualistic behavior with that of children from other rearing environments. Ultraorthodox children had more ritualistic behavior than age-matched children. This finding offers support for an environmental influence on level of ritualistic behavior in children. For the entire sample, we found that young children's ritualistic behavior was associated with shy and emotional temperament, fears, pervasive developmental behavioral problems, and that executive function delays in shifting and emotion regulation had an additional contribution. Ritualistic child behavior was only weakly related to maternal variables. The results were consistent with a maturational process for the trajectory of ritualistic behavior, rather than with an environmentally induced behavior. The development of executive function may be the process mediating the decline of ritualistic behavior over development.
Subject(s)
Ceremonial Behavior , Compulsive Behavior/nursing , Compulsive Behavior/psychology , Executive Function , Child Behavior Disorders/nursing , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Emotional Intelligence , Fear , Female , Humans , Israel , Male , Mother-Child Relations , Personality Assessment , TemperamentSubject(s)
Behavior, Addictive/nursing , Compulsive Behavior/nursing , Gambling/psychology , Internet , User-Computer Interface , Arousal , Behavior, Addictive/psychology , Behavior, Addictive/rehabilitation , Comorbidity , Compulsive Behavior/psychology , Compulsive Behavior/rehabilitation , Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Emotions , France , Humans , Mental Disorders/nursing , Mental Disorders/psychology , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Motivation , Psychoanalytic Theory , SoftwareABSTRACT
Compulsive overeating is a behavior used in an attempt to numb or nurture feelings that are threatening to the person. Emotional states are soothed by use of food. Treatment is designed to respond to internal, biologic causes of hunger and satiety while simultaneously allowing feelings to surface and be dealt with. Work on the inner child enables the person to identify and deal with unmet needs and correct distortions from childhood. The secondary gain realized from the extra weight is examined, and direct means of dealing with these needs explored. The focus of recovery is on learning to nurture the self, physically and emotionally.
