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The relations among infant temperament, security of attachment, and behavioral inhibition at twenty-four months
1Institute for Child Study, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.
Insights
Infant temperament, including distress reactivity, influences attachment security and later behavioral inhibition. Early distress to pacifier withdrawal predicts insecure attachment, while reactivity to frustration and novelty relates to vagal tone.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Infant temperament and attachment are crucial for socio-emotional development.
- Behavioral inhibition in infancy can predict later social and emotional challenges.
- Understanding the interplay between early reactivity and attachment is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationships between infant temperament, attachment security, and behavioral inhibition.
- To explore how early distress reactivity and vagal tone relate to later developmental outcomes.
- To identify predictors of behavioral inhibition in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 52 infants from 2 days to 24 months.
- Assessed temperament, attachment, and behavioral inhibition at multiple time points.
- Measured EKG, heart period, and vagal tone to quantify physiological responses.
Main Results:
- Distress to pacifier withdrawal at 2 days predicted insecure attachment at 14 months.
- Two types of distress reactivity at 5 months (frustration, novelty) were linked to high vagal tone.
- Insecure/resistant attachment predicted greater behavioral inhibition at 24 months compared to insecure/avoidant.
Conclusions:
- Early temperament and physiological responses (vagal tone) interact with attachment security to shape behavioral inhibition.
- Specific patterns of distress reactivity and attachment predict distinct social and behavioral outcomes.
- Findings support hypotheses on multiple modes of distress regulation in early infancy.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among infant temperament, attachment, and behavioral inhibition. 52 infants were seen at 2 days, 5, 14, and 24 months of age. Assessments were made of temperament at 2 days and 5 months of age, and attachment and behavioral inhibition were assessed at 14 and 24 months, respectively. EKG was recorded at each assessment, and measures of heart period and vagal tone were computed. Distress to pacifier withdrawal at 2 days of age was related to insecure attachment at 14 months. 2 types of distress reactivity at 5 months, reactivity to frustration and reactivity to novelty, were identified and related to high vagal tone. Attachment classification at 14 months was directly related to inhibited behavior at 24 months. Infants classified as insecure/resistant were more inhibited than those classified as insecure/avoidant. In addition, an interaction of infant reactivity to frustration and attachment classification was found to predict inhibition at 24 months. Infants classified as insecure/resistant and who had not cried to the arm restraint procedure at 5 months were the most inhibited at 24 months. These findings are discussed in terms of hypotheses regarding multiple modes of distress reactivity and regulation in early infancy and their different social and behavioral outcomes.