Mental health problems in early childhood are common, but there is a lack of psychiatric research on this age group. DC:0-5 is a multiaxial classification system for mental disorders in early childhood, providing a framework for standardizing clinical practice and research. However, research on the validity of DC:0-5 is scarce. The Developmental Psychiatry Diagnostic Challenges Study (DePsy) is a multi-site, prospective clinical study including six German early childhood mental health (ECMH) clinics. The main objective of the study is to contribute to the validation of Axis I and Axis II of DC:0-5. A second aim of the study is to describe the population of the participating clinics regarding diagnoses, family context, and treatment outcomes. Additionally, the impact of environmental risk factors, including parental Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and media use, on child psychopathology and caregiver–child relationships will be examined. Over two years, patients aged 0.0–5.9 years old will be enrolled in the study. Assessments include ICD-10 and DC:0-5 diagnoses, developmental tests, video-based observations of caregiver—child interactions, and questionnaires on child psychopathology, media use, parental stress, and treatment satisfaction. Study results will promote the standardization of assessment and treatment in ECMH clinics aiming to improve the development of patients and their families.

Sensory sensitivity plays a pivotal role in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and food disgust is widely accepted as a key factor in food avoidance across ages. However, their relationship remains unclear in ARFID in general and across its main presentations, picky eating, fear of aversive consequences, and lack of interest. Therefore, this cross-sectional study examined whether food disgust acted as a mediator of the relationship between sensory sensitivity and ARFID symptoms in children and adults. Parents and adults from the community participated in an online survey on children's and adults' sensory sensitivity, food disgust, and ARFID symptoms according to the three main presentations based on validated questionnaires. Data from 270 parents (children aged 2-17 years, 60.4% male) and 491 adults (18-73 years, 76.8% female) were analyzed. Consistently across ages, positive associations between food disgust and picky eating (medium to large effect) and fear of aversive consequences (small effect) were observed. Food disgust mediated (i.e., weakened) the association between sensory sensitivity and both picky eating (large effect) and fear of aversive consequences (small effect), but did not mediate this association for lack of interest. The results showed that different etiological mechanisms may play a role in the main presentations of ARFID. Food disgust was found to be particularly relevant for ARFID-picky eating in both children and adults, but was less relevant for ARFID-fear of aversive consequences and ARFID-lack of interest. Longitudinal studies are needed to explore the directionality between sensory sensitivity, food disgust, and ARFID symptoms. Addressing food disgust in therapeutic approaches for ARFID warrants further investigation.

Background/Objectives: Early childhood psychopathology has a profoundly negative impact on various areas of psychosocial functioning. Psychopathology and child development are closely linked and influenced by a range of factors, such as socioeconomic status and pre- and postnatal risks. This cross-sectional study aims to gain a deeper understanding of child development in children with early psychopathology and to derive implications for the diagnosis and treatment of the youngest children. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines the developmental status of children aged 0 to 5 years with early psychopathology (EPP) in comparison to gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HC). A newly self-developed objective, semi-structured, symptom-based interview was administered in each subgroup by trained research assistants. This interview is based on the DC: 0–5 classification system. The ET 6-6-R was used as a standardized developmental test, covering the developmental areas of gross and fine motor skills, cognition, language development, and socioemotional development. Demographic characteristics, including maternal education and household income, were considered as potential confounders. Results: Children with early pathology elicited a lower total developmental quotient than healthy controls. HC demonstrated a better performance in fine motor skills, language development, and socioemotional development than their counterparts with EPP. HC showed better gross motor skills as well, but statistical significance was p = 0.08. After controlling for maternal education, overall development and socioemotional development were found to be lower in the EPP group than in the HC group. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to identify psychopathology and associated developmental deficits early in childhood which might allow more targeted treatments, enhancing developmental opportunities for affected children.

Zusammenfassung: Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit Diagnostik und Behandlung der frühkindlichen Fütterstörung, einem in den verschiedenen Klassifikationssystemen unscharf und unterschiedlich repräsentierten Störungsbild. Aus kinder- und entwicklungspsychiatrischer Sicht werden Ätiologie und Vorgehensweise geschildert. Hierbei ist der pädiatrische Blick zur Mitbeurteilung differentialdiagnostisch zu bedenkender somatischer Faktoren unabdingbar. Ein integratives Behandlungsvorgehen mit individueller Planung unter Einbezug verschiedener Fachrichtungen im multidisziplinären Team ist für den Behandlungserfolg entscheidend.