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Indiscriminate friendliness and terror of strangers in infancy: Contributions from the study of infants in foster care
Author(s) -
Albus Kathleen E.,
Dozier Mary
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0355(199921)20:1<30::aid-imhj3>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , foster care , attachment theory , population , developmental psychology , sexual abuse , coping (psychology) , psychiatry , medicine , suicide prevention , poison control , medical emergency , nursing , environmental health
Indiscriminate friendliness toward strangers and severe stranger anxiety have been described in the diagnostic literature on disorders of attachment (e.g., American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Lieberman & Pawl, 1998; Zeanah, 1996; Zeanah, Mamman & Lieberman, 1993). In this paper we present case studies of infants in foster care who have demonstrated indiscriminate friendliness and terror of strangers. Infants in foster care have endured attachment‐related traumas well beyond the experience of most babies, including emotionally unavailable caregiving, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of caregivers, and the inevitable disruption in caregiving inherent in foster care placement. We assert that in some cases, such extreme circumstances force foster infants to develop anomalous coping mechanisms, particularly in situations that threaten the attachment system, such as the approach of a stranger. This population of infants thus provides an unfortunate opportunity to address questions of how disorders of attachment develop. We suggest possible explanations for the related phenomena of indiscriminate friendliness and terror of strangers.