Relationship between maternal pathology and infant social withdrawal: Analysis of a 268-outpatient population

Maria Lucia Maulucci,Silvia Maulucci,Emilia De Rosa,Livia De Giovanni,Vincenzo Currò

doi:10.4236/ojpsych.2013.33031

Abstract

Objective: Sustained withdrawal is a sign of infant distress and may be determined by extreme conditions like organic pathology or relationship problems. The Alarm Distress Baby Scale is the best instrument to identify withdrawal in infants between 2 and 24 months of age. The aim of this study was to assess the association between infant social withdrawal behavior and maternal pathology in the perinatal period. Method: The target sample of the study was 134 mother-child couples examined at the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli General Pediatric Outpatient Clinic and Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic, in Rome. We analyzed the relationship between withdrawal behavior and psychological and organic prenatal/postnatal pathology, using the Chi Square exact test. Results: When the mother suffers from both organic and psychological pathologies in the perinatal period, the risk of withdrawal is increased: the probability of infant withdrawal behavior is increased by maternal organic postnatal pathology by 14 times, by maternal psychological postnatal pathology by 9 times, and by maternal psychological postnatal depression, measured by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, by almost 4 times. Conclusion: Increased or sustained withdrawal reactions can be observed in unsatisfactory mother-child interaction. Maternal risk factors should be strictly considered in the pediatric clinical evaluation.

Highlights

Infants are born with an ability to be aware of the world around them as they show immediate connection to human beings soon after birth
The variables considered for the analysis were: 1) for the mothers, the presence/absence of psychological prenatal/postnatal pathology, the presence/absence of organic prenatal/ postnatal pathology, the presence/absence of psychological postnatal depression risk measured by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS); 2) for the infant, the presence/absence of withdrawal behavior
We used Chi Square exact test of dependence between withdrawal behavior, psychological/organic prenatal/ postnatal pathology and psychological postnatal depression risk measured by EPDS; logistic regression analysis of withdrawal behavior as a dependent variable and psychological and organic prenatal/postnatal pathology and psychological postnatal depression risk measured by EPDS as independent variables

Summary

Introduction

Infants are born with an ability to be aware of the world around them as they show immediate connection to human beings soon after birth. Pediatricians have always emphasized the newborn’s unique behavioral capacities, Brazelton [1], and the “vital tone” as defined by Pierre Marty [2]. This is a clear sign of good health and part of pre-verbal social communication. Engel describes infant withdrawal as a conservation system and a “biological threshold mechanism, where organism survival is supported by the process of disengagement and inactivity, vis-a-vis the external environment” [4]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion