Withdrawal behavior and depression in infancy

Abstract

This paper describes the history of the concept of infant depression, which has been at the beginning of the discipline of infant mental health, and reviews classification and diagnosis issues, along with some animal models. Several diagnostic criteria have yielded different prevalence rates, and some being unrealistic, but we still do not know when infant depression begins, what its outcome is, and what are its different aspects. It is suggested that infant depression needs a certain amount of emotional and cognitive development to unfold, and that it might not exist before 18-24 months of age, a crossover during which major autoreflexive, cognitive, and emotional abilities emerge. Depression could be an outcome of attachment disorganization in infancy, as depression and disorganization seem to share the same learned helpnessness psychopathological process. Developmental psychopathology considers trouble more from a dimensional point of view rather than from a categorical one, and more as the result of several factors with a sequential action rather than the effect of a genetic disorder with direct expression. Before the limit of 18-24 months, the concept of relational withdrawal seems more applicable and useful.

Child's behaviour in mother–child interaction predicts later emotional and behavioural problems

“…Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978;Murray et al, 1996). The behaviour of the child in interaction with the parent has received less attention even though child behaviour may be an important indicator of the quality of the relationship and problems in the child, a sign of the child's vulnerability or resilience, and a predictor of subsequent difficulties (Field, 1992;Guedeney, 2007;Mäntymaa et al, 2003;Puura, Guedeney, Mäntymaa, & Tamminen, 2007).…”

Relation Between Social Withdrawal Symptoms in Full‐term and Premature Infants and Depressive Symtoms in Mothers: A Longitudinal Study

“…A withdrawal reaction may therefore be an early warning signal of serious distress, indicating an increased risk for nonoptimal development. Social withdrawal reaction can be a precursor of infant depression (Herzog & Rathbun, ), and according to Guedeney (), social withdrawal is a key symptom of infant depression, but also an important feature of other conditions such as failure to thrive, malnutrition, pain, attachment disorders, relationship disorders, posttraumatic stress disorders, and autism (Guedeney, ).…”

Patterns of Instability and Change

“…The one-time smooth interaction might instead become characterized by an increase in crying, fewer moments of positive interactions and maybe even sustained withdrawal on the infant's part (Guedeney, 2007). We lack knowledge of how individual differences might influence how regressive behaviors are expressed and interpreted; we lack a deeper understanding on how culture exerts its influence; and we lack knowledge of possible consequences on the development of attachment by how the parent-infant dyad handles the stress induced by regression.…”