Disinhibited social engagement in postinstitutionalized children: Differentiating normal from atypical behavior

Jamie M. Lawler · Camelia E. Hostinar · Shanna B. Mliner · Megan R. Gunnar

36 citations0/0 files storedDevelopment and Psychopathology

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Child Welfare and Adoption Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Child Abuse and Trauma

Abstract

The most commonly reported socially aberrant behavior in postinstitutionalized (PI) children is disinhibited social engagement (DSE; also known as indiscriminate friendliness). There is no gold standard for measurement of this phenomenon nor agreement on how to differentiate it from normative behavior. We adopted a developmental psychopathology approach (Cicchetti, 1984) to study this phenomenon by comparing it to normative social development and by studying its patterns over time in 50 newly adopted PI children (16-36 months at adoption) compared with 41 children adopted early from foster care overseas and 47 nonadopted (NA) controls. Using coded behavioral observations of the child's interaction with an unfamiliar adult, atypical behaviors were differentiated from normative behaviors. Principal components analysis identified two dimensions of social disinhibition. The nonphysical social dimension (e.g., initiations, proximity) showed wide variation in NA children and is therefore considered a typical form of sociability. Displays of physical contact and intimacy were rare in NA children, suggesting that they represent an atypical pattern of behavior. Both adopted groups demonstrated more physical DSE behavior than NA children. There were no group differences on the nonphysical factor, and it increased over time in all groups. Implications for understanding the etiology of DSE and future directions are discussed.

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References

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2016Theory of Mind Development in Context 2018Development and Examination of the Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder Assessment Interview 2016The course of early disinhibited social engagement among post‐institutionalized adopted children 2016To trust or not to trust: social decision‐making in post‐institutionalized, internationally adopted youth 2017Social competence in Russian post-institutionalized children: A comparison of adopted and non-adopted children

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