adult baby syndrome

From adult baby +‎ syndrome. First attested as early as 21 March 1994, but popularised in academia by a 2003 research paper (see quotations).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌæd.ʌltˌbeɪ̯.biˈsɪn.drəʊm/, /ˌæd.əlt-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˌdʌltˌbeɪ̯.biˈsɪn.dɹoʊm/, /ˌæd.əlt-/, /-ˈsɪn.dɹəm/
• Hyphenation: a‧dult ba‧by syn‧drome, ad‧ult ba‧by syn‧drome

adult baby syndrome (uncountable)

2. (pathology, now informal, possibly offensive, uncommon) A condition or desire in which one takes on the role of an infant or toddler, usually by wearing diapers, engaging in child-like activities and engaging with childish paraphernalia, whether sexual (autonepiophilia) or non-sexual; infantilism, often believed to be the result of childhood trauma, neglect or abuse.

   Hypernym: ageplay

   • 1994 March 21, “Alternate Lifestyles BBS”, in MicroTimes‎^[1], number 121 (advertisement), page 181:

     We cater to all sexual lifestyles. Women free, discounts for couples. Lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, adult baby syndrome, water sports, slaves, masters, mistresses, TV, TS, cross dressers, kink, fetishes and more.

   • 1996 June 18, Mark S. Schmalz, “Something so outrageous I can't believe this one...”, in alt.culture.hawaii‎^[2] (Usenet):

     I believe it is called the "adult baby syndrome", and is a form of psychosis. One of my colleagues who is interested in the decay of Western society said that there is a paper on the Net about ABS. Apparently, one can use Alta Vista or some other text searcher to find such things.

   • 2003 November, Jennifer E. Pate, Glen O. Gabbard, “Adult Baby Syndrome”, in American Journal of Psychiatry, volume 160, number 11, American Psychiatric Association, →DOI, page 1934:

     These two cases were both characterized as antisocial behavior, with a predominant emphasis on the fetishistic or sexual aspects of wearing diapers and rubber pants. Unlike Mr. A, neither patient had all of the characteristics of adult baby syndrome.

   • 2008, Gary F. Kelly, Sexuality Today, 9 edition, →ISBN, pages 411–412:

     Another variation at least sometimes associated with sexual arousal is adult baby syndrome, in which an adult is motivated to act like an infant, wearing diapers, drinking milk from a bottle, eating baby food, and doing other things associated with infants.

   • 2015, Robert A. Schug, Henry F. Fradella, Mental Illness and Crime, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 308:

     Many such individuals experienced intimacy as dangerous or deadly during childhood, and avoid it for the rest of their lives. An example is infantilism, or adult baby syndrome (dressing as a baby, wearing diapers, and acting as a child), which is performed to coerce others into a quasi-maternal role that utterly negates their subjectivity.

   • 2022 April 10, Gergana Krasteva, “Shoelace strangler now identifies as a baby who wears nappies in prison”, in Metro‎^[3]:

     While it is unknown if Eastwood’s condition has been clinically examined, people who identify as babies usually suffer from paraphilic infantilism, otherwise known as 'adult baby syndrome'. It is a sexual fetish that sees adults role-playing and regressing to a child-like state, often to help them deal with childhood trauma and abandonment issues.

• This term is often avoided by adult babies, who view their activities as a lifestyle or hobby rather than a disorder; some alternatively prefer age regression or ABDL.
• When regarded specifically as a paraphilia, the terms paraphilic infantilism, autonepiophilia and ABDL are more common.

• ABDL
• age regression