Childhood Derivatives of High and Low Reactivity in Infancy

Abstract

A group of 193 children, classified as high or low reactive to stimulation at 4 months and observed again at 14 and 21 months, were observed at 4% years of age for behavioral signs of inhibited or uninhibited behavior. Children who had been high reactive were less spontaneous and less sociable than those who had been classified as low reactive, but only a small proportion of children maintained a consistently inhibited or uninhibited phenotype at all ages.

Sexually dimorphic responses to early adversity: Implications for affective problems and autism spectrum disorder

“…Consideration of published human literature evaluating sex-specific consequences of prenatal exposure to maternal stress suggests that although sex difference were not observed in all studies (O'Connor et al, 2003), the preponderance of the evidence indicates that girls may be more susceptible to the effects of fetal adversity on fearful temperament, emotional reactivity and internalizing problems increasing their risk for the development of affective problems. Infants who are easily aroused by varied stimulation are more likely to become behaviorally inhibited as young children (Kagan et al, 1998), exhibit social anxiety during adolescence (Schwartz et al, 1999) and show greater amygdalar activation to novelty as adults (Schwartz et al, 2003). We suggest that sexually dimorphic vulnerability to affective problems may originate during the fetal period.…”

Personality Development

“…Inhibition consists of a number of related but distinct behaviors: hesitance with new peers and adults, wariness in physically challenging and unfamiliar situations, difficulty with separation from parents, and acute discomfort in performance situations (Bishop, Spence, & McDonald, 2003). This trait has been measured through a variety of observed behaviors in toddlers, preschoolers, and older children, such as a fearful response to novel situations (e.g., a toy robot, a gorilla head mask, an adult dressed as a clown) and reticent, withdrawn behavior with unfamiliar adults or children (Kagan, Snidman, & Arcus, 1998;Pfeifer, Goldsmith, Davidson, & Rickman, 2002;Rubin, Burgess, & Hastings, 2002). Sociability and social inhibition represent distinct traits: Sociability is a pure marker of Extraversion, whereas social inhibition appears to be a more complex blend of low Extraversion and high fear or anxiety in the presence of novel situations (Asendorpf & van Aken, 2003b;Eisenberg, Fabes, & Murphy, 1995;Markon et al, 2005;Nigg, 2000).…”

Low positive affectivity and behavioral inhibition in preschool-age children: A replication and extension of previous findings

“…Laboratory observation measures of BI frequently include markers of PA, such as smiling and laughter (e.g., Gest, 1997; Kagan, Snidman, & Arcus, 1998). Many studies have also conceptualized BI and PE as opposite ends of a single dimension, defined by high BI at one end and high PE/exuberance at the other (Polak-Toste & Gunnar, 2006).…”