Research Article: Antibiotic Consumption, Illness, and Maternal Sensitivity in Infants with a Disorganized Attachment
Abstract:
Prior research found an association between mother–infant attachment and antibiotic use. Ambivalent-attached infants are more likely to take antibiotics than other infants, and their mothers tend to be less sensitive to their needs than most. This finding is important because it shows the association between psychological processes, early relationships, and health outcomes. We aim to learn about children with high-risk attachment relationships, such as disorganized-attached infants. This study compares antibiotic use, infant–mother interactive behavior, and health indicators according to infant attachment patterns (including disorganized attachment). For this purpose, we observed mothers–infants’ interactive behavior in free play at nine months and infants’ attachment in the Ainsworth Strange Situation at twelve months. Participants included 77 girls and 104 boys (full-term and preterm) and their mothers. Paradoxically, mothers of disorganized-attached infants reported that their children were ill only 1.56 times on average, but 61% of their children used antibiotics in the first nine months. The other mothers reported that their children were sick 5.73 times on average, but only 54% of their children used antibiotics in the same period. Infants with disorganized attachment had mothers who were more literate and less sensitive. These results add to a body of research that shows that early high-risk relationships affect children’s lives at multiple levels.
Introduction:
Recent research has found an association between maternal behavior, infant attachment, and antibiotic use. Fuertes et al. studied infants born at full term and found that the proportion of ambivalent-attached infants that took antibiotics in the first nine months of life was significantly higher than among secure and avoidant-attached infants [1]. Further studies found that the mothers of infants who consumed antibiotics were more anxious and less sensitive than those whose children used antibiotics [2]. One…
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