Improving the Prediction of Risk for Anxiety Development in Temperamentally Fearful Children

Buss, Kristin A.; McDoniel, Meghan E.

doi:10.1177/0963721415611601

Cited by 42 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Previous work indicated that freezing in low‐risk contexts predicts heightened stress responding, which is a potential risk for internalizing symptoms (Buss & McDoniel, ). We extended these findings in three ways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

Niermann

Tyborowska

Cillessen

et al. 2018

Developmental Science

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Given the long-lasting detrimental effects of internalizing symptoms, there is great need for detecting early risk markers. One promising marker is freezing behavior.Whereas initial freezing reactions are essential for coping with threat, prolonged freezing has been associated with internalizing psychopathology. However, it remains unknown whether early life alterations in freezing reactions predict changes in internalizing symptoms during adolescent development. In a longitudinal study (N = 116), we tested prospectively whether observed freezing in infancy predicted the development of internalizing symptoms from childhood through late adolescence (until age 17). Both longer and absent infant freezing behavior during a standard challenge (robot-confrontation task) were associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Specifically, absent infant freezing predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms consistently across development from relatively low symptom levels in childhood to relatively high levels in late adolescence. Longer infant freezing also predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms, but only up until early adolescence. This latter effect was moderated by peer stress and was followed by a later decrease in internalizing symptoms. The findings suggest that early deviations in defensive freezing responses signal risk for internalizing symptoms and may constitute important markers in future stress vulnerability and resilience studies. K E Y W O R D S 5-HTTLPR, adolescence, defensive stress response, infancy, internalizing symptoms, longitudinal analysis Highlights • This prospective longitudinal study investigated whether and how deviations in infant freezing predict changes in internalizing symptoms from childhood into late adolescence. • Deviations in infant freezing-both absent and longer freezing-were associated with relative increases in internalizing symptoms. • Whereas absent infant freezing predicted a continuous increase from relatively low to relatively high internalizing symptoms up until late adolescence, longer infant freezing predicted increased internalizing symptoms during early adolescence only. • Early deviations in freezing may mark an individual's risk to develop internalizing symptoms and may be important to consider in future stress vulnerability and resilience studies. S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of the article. How to cite this article: Niermann HCM, Tyborowska A, Cillessen AHN, et al. The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study. Dev Sci.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

Niermann

Tyborowska

Cillessen

et al. 2018

Developmental Science

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“…Previous research demonstrates that shyness and fear increase the probability for later developing problems (Colder, Mott, & Berman, 2002; Oldehinkel, Hartman, De Winter, Veenstra, & Ormel, 2004). Research by Buss, however, suggests that not all children who present with fearful inhibition are at risk for developing anxiety (Buss, 2011; Buss & McDoniel, 2016). Our moderation analyses confirm that other processes are involved in the associations between early fear and later internalizing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not all children with high levels of fearful inhibition will develop serious internalizing problems, however (Rubin, 1993; Buss, 2011). Thus, it is important to understand within-child factors that put children with fearful inhibition at high risk (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1992), as well as to study environmental factors that influence the levels of risk (Buss & McDoniel, 2016; Fox, Henderson, Marshall, Nichols, & Ghera, 2005; Morales, Perez-Edgar, & Buss, 2015). For example, Degnan and Fox (2007) note there are multiple protective factors in the link between fearful inhibition and later developing anxiety, including child regulation skills and parenting behaviors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fearful Inhibition, Inhibitory Control, and Maternal Negative Behaviors During Toddlerhood Predict Internalizing Problems at Age 6

Liu

Calkins

Bell

2018

J Abnorm Child Psychol

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Many, but not all, young children with high levels of fearful inhibition will develop internalizing problems. Individual studies have examined either child regulatory or environmental factors that might influence the level of risk. We focused on the interaction of regulation and environment by assessing how early fearful inhibition at age 2, along with inhibitory control and maternal negative behaviors at age 3, interactively predicted internalizing problems at age 6. A total of 218 children (105 boys, 113 girls) and their mothers participated in the study. Results indicated a three-way interaction among fearful inhibition, inhibitory control, and maternal negative behaviors. The correlation between fearful inhibition and internalizing was significant only when children had low inhibitory control and experienced high levels of maternal negative behaviors. Either having high inhibitory control or experiencing low maternal negative behaviors buffered against the adverse effect caused by the absence of the other. These findings highlight the importance of considering associations among both within-child factors and environmental factors in studying children's socioemotional outcomes.

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“…Early childhood negative emotional reactivity is one such plausible outcome because of its frequently reported associations with prenatal cortisol (Bergman, Glover, Sarkar, Abbott, & O'Connor, 2010;De Weerth, Van Hees, & Buitelaar, 2003), and later psychopathology, especially internalizing symptoms in childhood (De Pauw & Mervielde, 2010;Sayal, Heron, Maughan, Rowe, & Ramchandani, 2014). Moreover, fear, a specific aspect of negative emotional reactivity, is frequently emphasized, given its potential to predict later anxiety disorders (Baker, Baibazarova, Ktistaki, Shelton, & van Goozen, 2012;Buss, 2011;Buss & McDoniel, 2016). To our knowledge, only one human study has reported a positive association between milk cortisol and aspects of infant negative emotional reactivity, especially fearfulness and sadness (Grey, Davis, Sandman, & Glynn, 2013).…”

Section: Gcs May Independently Program Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Human milk cortisol concentration predicts experimentally induced infant fear reactivity: moderation by infant sex

Nolvi

Uusitupa

Bridgett

et al. 2017

Developmental Science

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Little consideration has been given to the possibility of human infant development being shaped via lactocrine programming, and by breast milk cortisol levels specifically. Despite animal models indicating that glucocorticoid (GC) exposure via lactation might modify brain development and behavior, only one study has reported that milk cortisol levels were positively associated with infant negative affectivity, especially fearfulness and sadness-early emerging risk factors for internalizing difficulties such as anxiety. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether human milk cortisol is associated with mother-reported fearfulness and experimentally induced infant fear reactivity. Mother-infant dyads (n = 65) enrolled in the FinnBrain Cohort Study participated. Breast milk samples were obtained 2.5 months postpartum, and milk cortisol concentrations were ascertained using validated luminescence immunoassay methodology. Infant fear reactivity was assessed using maternal reports 6 months postpartum and in a laboratory 8 months postpartum. There was a significant interaction between infant sex and milk cortisol such that higher milk cortisol was related to higher infant fear reactivity in a laboratory setting in girls (β = 0.36, p = .04) but not in boys (β = -0.15, p = .40). Milk cortisol was not associated with mother-reported infant fearfulness. Results suggest that higher human milk cortisol concentrations are associated with elevated experimentally induced fear in infancy. Findings support lactocrine programming, and suggest that mothers may "communicate" vital information about stressful environments via cortisol contained in breast milk, shaping girls' early emotional reactivity.

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Improving the Prediction of Risk for Anxiety Development in Temperamentally Fearful Children

Cited by 42 publications

References 42 publications

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

Fearful Inhibition, Inhibitory Control, and Maternal Negative Behaviors During Toddlerhood Predict Internalizing Problems at Age 6

Human milk cortisol concentration predicts experimentally induced infant fear reactivity: moderation by infant sex

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