Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants
11:14

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants

Published on: October 4, 2015

Associations between infant social withdrawal and disorganized attachment

Anne Christine Stuart1, Katrine Røhder2, Sophie Reijman3

  • 1Centre of Excellence in Early Intervention and Family Studies, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark. ach@psy.ku.dk.

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
|May 10, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Infant social withdrawal, not maternal depression, predicts disorganized attachment. Early identification of infant behavior is key for preventing developmental issues and supporting early intervention strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Infant Mental Health

Background:

  • Disorganized attachment is a significant risk factor for adverse child development.
  • Reliable identification of disorganized attachment is typically only possible from 11 months of age.
  • Earlier identification of risk factors is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate infant social withdrawal and maternal postpartum depression as early predictors of disorganized attachment.
  • To identify factors reliably assessed earlier in development to prevent adverse child outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 203 Danish mother-infant dyads was studied.
  • Infant social withdrawal was assessed using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB).
  • Maternal postpartum depression symptom severity was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).
  • Attachment quality was assessed using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP).

Main Results:

  • Infant social withdrawal was significantly associated with disorganized attachment.
  • Maternal postpartum depression symptom severity was not significantly associated with disorganized attachment.
  • The association between infant social withdrawal and disorganized attachment may relate to the infant's interactive capabilities.

Conclusions:

  • Infant social withdrawal is a potential early indicator of disorganized attachment.
  • Focusing on infant behavioral cues, such as social withdrawal, is important for early identification.
  • These findings underscore the need to consider infant behavior in predicting later attachment patterns.

Keywords:
Disorganized attachmentInfant social withdrawalMaternal postpartum depression

More Related Videos

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling06:04

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Published on: January 17, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure07:56

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Related Concept Videos

Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles01:28

Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in adult relationships.
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
Attachment Styles01:24

Attachment Styles

Jeffrey Simpson's attachment theory suggests that early caregiver relationships shape lasting patterns of behavior and emotional regulation, known as attachment styles. These patterns are organized along two key dimensions: self-esteem and interpersonal trust. The intersection of these dimensions produces four primary attachment styles that typically persist throughout life and significantly influence how individuals form and maintain relationships.Secure Attachment StyleIndividuals with a...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...