Sustained withdrawal behavior in infancy is an important alarm signal to draw attention to both organic and relationship disorders. A withdrawal scale, the Alarm Distress Baby scale (ADBB), for infants between 2 and 24 months of age was built. This article describes the construction of the scale and the assessment of its psychometric properties. The ADBB has good content validity, based on the advice of seven experts. The scale has good criterion validity: first, as a measure of the infant's withdrawal reaction, with a very good correlation between nurse and pediatrician on the ADBB (r ϭ 0.84), and s second, as a screening procedure for detecting the developmental risk of the infant. The cutoff score of 5 with a sensitivity of 0.82 and a specificity of 0.78 was determined to be optimal for screening purposes. The scale has good construct validity, with good convergent validity with both the Spitz (1951) and the Herzog & Rathbun (1982) lists of symptoms of infant depression (r ϭ 0.61 and 0.60, respectively). s Exploratory factor analysis showed two different factors, consistent with the scale's construct. Reliability was satisfactory with good internal consistency for both subscales (the Cronbach ␣ ϭ 0.80 for the first subscale and 0.79 for the second) and for the global scale (␣ ϭ 0.83). The test-retest procedure showed good stability over time (r ϭ 0.90 and 0.84 for the two different raters). The scale could be used in 560• A. Guedeney and J. Fermanian relatively brief period of time. The scale can be used by nurses and psychologists or by medical doctors after a short period of training.RESUMEN: Cuando la conducta de ensimismarse o apartarse es sostenida durante la infancia nos encontramos frente a una importante señal de alarma que nos hace dirigir la atención hacia los trastornos orgánicos y los que se presentan dentro de una relación. Se ha establecido una escala para determinar el ensimismamiento en infantes entre los 2 y 24 meses de edad, la cual se denomina "Alarm Distress Baby scale" (ADBB). Este ensayo describe la estructuración de dicha escala y la evaluación de sus propiedades sicométricas. La ADBB tiene una muy buena validez de contenido, basándose en el consejo de siete expertos. La escala también posee una validez en cuanto al buen criterio: primero como una forma de medir la reacción de ensimismamiento del infante, con una buena correlación entre enfermera y pediatra en la ADBB (rs ϭ 0.84); y segundo, como un procedimiento investigativo para detectar el riesgo de desarrollo del infante. Se determinó que un puntaje máximo de 5, con una sensibilidad de 0.82, y una especifidad de 0.78, era el puntaje óptimo para los propósitos investigativos. La escala tiene asímismo una buena validez de estructuración, con buena validez convergente con referencia a las listas de síntomas de la depresión infantil de Spitz (1951) y de Herzog & Rathbun (1982) (rs: 0.61 y 0.60). El análisis del factor de exploración mostró dos diferentes factores, consistentes con la estructuración de la escala. La fiabilidad...

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) display poor feeding and social skills as infants and fewer hypothalamic oxytocin (OXT)-producing neurons were documented in adults. Animal data demonstrated that early treatment with OXT restores sucking after birth. Our aim is to reproduce these data in infants with PWS.

This article reviews the studies using or validating the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB; A. Guedeney & J. Fermanian, 2001) within different countries, different populations, and different settings. After a brief summary of the theoretical backgrounds of infant social behavior, the results of the main controlled and methodologically comparable studies are summarized and discussed. Second, the results of some observational studies as well as different models of factor analysis are presented. The modified, five-item ADBB (m-ADBB) Scale is described. Finally, perspectives for future research and training are presented.