Early mother-infant interaction as a precursor to childhood social withdrawal

The relationship between early mother-infant interaction at three months of age, biological and psychosocial risks, and later social withdrawal was examined using a hierarchical logistic regression approach. A group of children (N = 20) who were stably socially withdrawn (4 1/2 and 8 years of age) and a control group of healthy children (N = 143) were formed. Variables were entered into the regression models in the following order: At first, biological and psychosocial risks and sex, followed by mother and child variables separately, while in a final regression model all of the variables were entered at once. The results show that child behaviors (smiling and gazing) as well as maternal behaviors (facial and motor responsiveness) significantly predict social withdrawal in middle childhood. Among the risks only biological risks significantly contribute to later child outcome. These results suggest that a dysfunctional interaction pattern between mother and infant may be a precursor of childhood social withdrawal.