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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2014

Jamie M. Lawler ,
Camelia E. Hostinar ,
Shanna B. Mliner  and
Megan R. Gunnar
Jamie M. Lawler*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
Camelia E. Hostinar
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
Shanna B. Mliner
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
Megan R. Gunnar
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jamie M. Lawler, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: lawle084@umn.edu.
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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.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , May 2014 , pp. 451 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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