Birth complications relate to behavioral inhibition and social anxiety symptoms during middle childhood

Recent work from CAT Lab researcher Santiago Morales examined the roles of temperament and birth complications in social anxiety symptoms during middle childhood. Children (9 - 12 years) who experienced birth complications exhibited higher levels of both fearful temperament (i.e., behavioral inhibition) and social anxiety symptoms. Additionally, analyses suggested that behavioral inhibition acted as a pathway between birth complications and social anxiety symptoms. This study sets the stage for future longitudinal work examining whether childhood temperament is a developmental path by which birth complications lead to social anxiety symptoms.

The full paper can be read in Infant and Child Development.