Caregiver Mental Health, Parenting Practices, and Perceptions of Child Attachment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. This paper investigates the role of caregiver mental health and parenting practices as predictors of attachment in children with intellectual disability/developmental delay, comparing between children with ASD (n = 29) and children with other developmental disabilities (n = 20). Parents reported that children with ASD had high levels of anxiety and stress, and attachment insecurity in children (less closeness and more conflict in attachment relationships, and more inhibited attachment behaviours) compared with children with other developmental disabilities. Children’s attachment quality was associated with parenting practices and the presence of an ASD diagnosis. These results highlight the bidirectional nature of the quality of caregiving environments and attachment in children with ASD, and also provide a strong rationale for targeting children’s attachment quality in early interventions

Attachment and child behaviour and emotional problems in autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Background: Behaviour and emotional problems are highly prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In typically developing children, attachment quality acts as a risk/protective factor for behavioural outcomes and adjustment, warranting investigation in children with ASD. Method: We investigated the relationship between attachment and child behaviour and emotional problems in children with ASD and comorbid intellectual disability. Data were collected from parent–child dyads where children were diagnosed with ASD and ID (n = 28) or other developmental disabilities (n = 20). Results: Children with ASD had higher levels of behaviour and emotional problems and more attachment difficulties than children with other developmental disabilities. Poorer attachment quality contributed uniquely to the variance in child behaviour and emotional problems. Conclusions: Interventions targeting behaviour and emotional problems in children with ASD may benefit from an attachment model which addresses the child's difficulty in using caregivers as a coregulatory agent of emotions