Attachment and Temperament Revisited: Infant Distress, Attachment Disorganization, and the Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study's aim was to evaluate whether infant disorganized attachment and infant proneness to distress exhibited differential relations to infant genetic factors as indexed by the serotonin transporter polymorphism.

Background

The role of the short allele of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in enhancing sensitivity to fearful and negative affect has been well-established (Canli & Lesch, 2007). In the current study, we used this known property of the short allele to provide a test of an important postulate of attachment theory, namely that infant attachment security or disorganization is not a function of the infant's proneness to distress.

Methods

Participants were 39 parents and infants assessed between 12 and 18 months in the Strange Sit

SUBMITTER: Brumariu LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4762372 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature