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Infant attachment, early behavioral inhibition may predict adolescent social anxiety

Researchers found an association between consistently high behavioral inhibition in childhood and adolescent anxiety symptoms mainly among adolescent men who had insecure attachments during infancy, according to study data.

“Our study suggests that it is the combination of both early risk factors that predicts anxiety in adolescence, particularly social anxiety,” Erin Lewis-Morrarty, PhD, of the department of psychology at the University of Maryland, said in a press release. “The findings can inform the prevention and treatment of adolescent social anxiety by identifying specific factors that increase risk for this outcome among children who are persistently shy.”

The researchers included 165 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years from a previous study, who provided observational or maternal reports of behavioral inhibition data at one or more time periods in early childhood. As infants, the adolescents were categorized as secure, insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant based on their behavior. Questionnaires were completed during adolescence.

Ultimately, data indicated that children who were both insecurely attached to their parents as infants and those who were behaviorally inhibited throughout their childhood later developed greater levels of social anxiety during adolescence. Males had a greater risk for developing social anxiety, according to researchers.

These findings may enhance researchers’ understanding as to how biology and early development play a role in anxiety disorders among adolescents, they wrote.

Disclosure: This study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01MH07454 and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant R37HD17899.