Prevalence and Characteristics of Social Withdrawal Tendency Among 3–24 Months in China: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Sustained withdrawal behavior is an obstacle for child development. The present study aimed to preliminarily evaluate the prevalence of social withdrawal tendency in young Chinese children using the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) and describe the characteristics of socially withdrawn children.Method: This was a cross-sectional analysis as part of a prospective cohort study. A total of 114 children aged 3–24 months were included. The following instruments were administered: the Chinese version of ADBB, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3), the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), and the Infant Temperamental Questionnaire. The tendency of social withdrawal in children was assessed using the ADBB. Social withdrawal was defined as an ADBB score of 5 or above. Student's t-test, χ2 test, and Fisher's exact test were performed to identify the differences in maternal and child characteristics between the children with and without social withdrawal. Age-specific indicators of development in these two groups were also presented.Results: About 16.7% of the children were socially withdrawn. Compared with those without social withdrawal, children with social withdrawal were older and had higher proportions of boys (68.4 vs. 42.1%) and social-emotional development delay (63.2 vs. 0%). In age-specific analyses, social-emotional development was poorer in children with social withdrawal across all age groups from 3 to 24 months.Conclusion: Assessed by the ADBB, the prevalence of social withdrawal tendency in young Chinese children was similar to that reported in the European population; children with social withdrawal tended to have poorer social-emotional development. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to validate the scale and confirm these findings.

Infant Social Withdrawal Behavior: A Key for Adaptation in the Face of Relational Adversity

“…In contrast, sustained social withdrawal may have adverse effects on child development, since this behavior limits the infant's access to the social learning environment (Guedeney et al, 2013 ). Indeed, studies have shown that social withdrawal in infancy is associated with less optimal outcomes within several developmental domains, such as emotional and behavioral disorders (Guedeney et al, 2014 ; Zhou et al, 2021 ) and poorer cognitive and language development (Milne et al, 2009 ; Guedeney et al, 2017 ; Smith-Nielsen et al, 2019 ).…”

Understanding Your Baby: protocol for a controlled parallel group study of a universal home-based educational program for first time parents

“…The ADBB is a tool for systematic observation and identification of persistent social withdrawal in infants aged 2-24 months as an indicator of emotional distress in infants and young children [15]. Infant social withdrawal is associated with longitudinal emotional and behavioral problems [17,18] as well as impaired cognitive [19][20][21] and language development [20,22]. The ADBB consists of eight items focusing on different aspects of infant social behavior, such as eye contact, facial expression, vocalizations, and activity level.…”

The Prevalence of Social Withdrawal in Infants With Cleft Lip and Palate: The Feasibility of the Full and the Modified Versions of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale

“…Sustained social withdrawal may have adverse effects on infants' development, since the baby is less available for social learning ( 6 , 14 ). Previous studies have found that infants' social withdrawal is associated with emotional and behavioral problems ( 15 , 16 ), language development ( 17 , 18 ) and cognitive milestones [e.g., ( 14 )].…”