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Definition
An infant’s anxiety response to someone other than the caregiver.
Description
Stranger anxiety is discomfort at the approach of an unfamiliar person. Infants differ considerably in both the way in which they demonstrate signs of discomfort and in the intensity of distress they experience once confronted with people that are unfamiliar. The manner in which an infant responds to a stranger has been found to be influenced by a variety of factors, namely, the infant’s temperament and the security of the mother–infant relationship, aspects of the stranger such as gender and behavior toward the infant, and aspects of the situation, including the proximity and availability of an attachment figure or the infant’s current mood [1–3]. Thus, infants may cry, cling and hide their faces, or merely become unresponsive and guarded [1].
Because researchers diverge in their views regarding behaviors that constitute evidence of...
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References
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Tsola, ME., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (2011). Stranger Anxiety. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2811
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2811
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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