Eating and mood disorders in young children.

This article addresses issues emerging from research and clinical work done with young children who develop eating and mood disorders. A literature review and vignettes of anorexia nervosa in prepubertal children are presented, and research on the relationship between eating disorders and mood disorders is examined. Three cases of prepubertal children with growth problems and features of eating and mood disorders and a developmental model of eating disorders and their relationship to mood disorders are explored. In conclusion, a series of questions and suggestions for research and therapy are posed about young children with eating and mood disorders and the relationship between them.