title: Do infant behaviors following immunization predict attachment? An exploratory study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The relationship between infant behaviors during routine immunization, pre- and post-needle, and infant attachment was explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 130 parent-infant dyads were recruited from a larger longitudinal study and videotaped during routine immunization at 12 months and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) at 14 months. Six infant behaviors were coded for 1-minute pre-needle and 3-minutes post-needle. Attachment was operationalized according to the secure/avoidant/resistant/disorganized categories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As expected, none of the pre-needle behaviors predicted attachment. Proximity-seeking post-needle significantly discriminated attachment categorizations. Secure infants were more likely to seek proximity to caregivers post-needle in comparison with avoidant and disorganized infants. Proximity-seeking following immunization was positively correlated with proximity-seeking during the SSP and negatively correlated with avoidance and disorganization during the SSP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infant proximity-seeking during immunization is associated with attachment security and parallels behaviors observed during the SSP. More research is needed to identify behavioral markers of disorganization.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology, York University , Toronto , Canada.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.affiliation: a Psychology, York University , Toronto , Canada.|b Psychology, Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto , Canada.|c Psychology, University of Toronto , Toronto , Canada.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pillai Riddell
authors.affiliation: d Office of the Provost, Aga Khan University , Nairobi , Kenya.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: a Psychology, York University , Toronto , Canada.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lisi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000523:psychology*; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations
keywords: affect regulation; attachment; immunization; infancy; pain