Perinatal risk factors and social withdrawal behaviour

Abstract

The objectives of the study were (1) to assess prevalence of social withdrawal behaviour in infants aged 12 months included in the French Perinatal Risk Factor Study Eden; (2) To study the correlation between relational withdrawal and several perinatal and parental factors assessed in the EDEN study. A longitudinal study using the ADBB scale was conducted within the Eden Cohort in the year 2008. 1,586 infants were included in the study. Fourteen percent of the children who had an ADBB assessment had a score at 5 and over on the ADBB, a scale designed to assess social withdrawal behaviour at age 0-24 months. Social withdrawal at 12 months was associated with low birth weight, low gestational age and with intra uterine growth retardation. Social withdrawal was independently associated with several maternal and paternal risk factors. The level of social withdrawal behaviour increased with a score of maternal difficulties. This study on a large longitudinally followed volunteer sample demonstrate a clear association of social withdrawal behaviour at age one with low birth weight and preterm birth, possibly mediated by parental vulnerabilities. Social withdrawal behaviour seems to be an important alarm signal to detect early on particularly in premature and small for date babies.

Social Withdrawal Behavior in Infancy: A History of the Concept and a Review of Published Studies Using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale

“…The objectives of the study were to assess the prevalence of social withdrawal behavior in infants aged 12 months who participated in the French Perinatal Risk Factor Study EDEN (Etude des Déterminants de l'Environnement Néonatal; Guedeney et al., ). The EDEN prospective Birth Cohort Study aimed to identify prenatal and early postnatal nutritional, environmental, and social determinants associated with children's health and their normal and pathological development (http://eden.vjf.inserm.fr).…”

A DESCRIPTION OF THE MODIFIED ALARM DISTRESS BABY SCALE (m‐ADBB): AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS FOR INFANT SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL

“…Many studies have been conducted using the ADBB, and Guedeney et al (2013) described 17 reports across nine countries from Europe: France (Guedeney, Foucault, Bougen, Larroque, & Mentré, ; Guedeney, Marchand‐Martin, Cote, Larroque, & The EDEN Mother–Child Cohort Study Group, ; Guedeney, Grasso, & Starakis, ; Rochette & Mellier, ; Wendland, Gautier, Wolff, Brisson, & Adrien, ), Italy (De Rosa et al., ), Finland (Puura, Guedeney, Mäntymaa, & Tamminnen, ; Puura et al., ; Mäntymaa et al., ), Portugal ( Costa & Figueiredo, ), South America: Brazil (Lopes, Ricas, & Mancini, ), Argentina (Oliver, ; Oliver et al, ), South Africa (Molteno, Jacobson, Carter, Dodge, & Jacobson, ), Australia (Matthey, Guedeney, Starakis, & Barnett, ; Milne, Greenway, Guedeney, & Larroque, ; Re et al., ), and Israel ( Dollberg, Feldman, Keren & Guedeney, ). In summary, these studies have been conducted on infants ranging in age from 2 to 24 months, in various settings such as community and hospital well‐baby clinics, clinics for emotional difficulties in children, childcare settings, and a clinic for possible fetal alcohol syndrome infants.…”

Maternal Report of Infant Emotional Well‐Being Following Their Infant's Hospitalization for Neonatal Cardiac Surgery

“…They may present as hypervigilant or extremely withdrawn and avoidant of feeding, exploration, and interpersonal interaction (Drell, Siegal, & Gaensbauer, ; Zeanah & Sheeringa ). Marked social withdrawal behavior has been documented using a validated observational measure—the Alarm Baby Distress Scale‐ (Guedeney & Fermanian, ; Puura, Guedeney, Mantymaa, & Tammimen, ) in a number of community studies, including one of infants at perinatal risk where withdrawal behavior was predicted by maternal and paternal risk factors and infant low birth weight and preterm birth (Guedeney, Marchand‐Martine, Cote, & Larroque, ).…”