Abstract

Failure to Thrive (FTT) is a condition where infant (from birth to 3 years) fail to achieve standards of weight and height in relation with age. This occur in state of undernutrition, but also in several situations wich involves a complex plot of organic, psychogenetic and relational factors in the origin and course of this pathology. This work is a review of national and international studies on FTT, recalled by a search through three main database: PsycInfo, Medline and Francis. To January 1980 from December 2002 were find 626 records that concerns theoretical and empirical psychological researches in Failure to Thrive. The work present the national and international theoretical framework in definition, classification and diagnosis of FTT in infancy and early childhood. Moreover, this is a review of empirical studies of the cognitive, affective and social development of children with a history of Failure to Thrive: the litterature indicates that FTT in infancy is associated with adverse developmental outcomes in several areas.