Autism and attachment: The attachment Q-sort

Anna H. Rutgers; Marinus H. Van Ijzendoorn; Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg; Sophie H.N. Swinkels

doi:10.1177/1362361307075713

Autism and attachment: The attachment Q-sort

Anna H. Rutgers, Marinus H. Van Ijzendoorn^*, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Sophie H.N. Swinkels

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Children with autism are able to show secure attachment behaviours to their parents/caregivers. Most studies on attachment in children with autism used a (modified) Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to examine attachment security. An advantage of the Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) over the SSP is that it can be attuned to the secure-base behaviour of children from special populations. In this study experts in the field of autism (both clinicians and researchers: N = 59) defined an AQS criterion sort for children with autism and tested its content validity. Separate criterion sorts were defined for the social subtypes aloof and active-but-odd, but the two criterion sorts could be combined into one AQS criterion sort for children with autism. It is concluded that with minor amendments the original Attachment Q-Sort is applicable in observing the attachment behaviour of children with autism.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	187-200
Number of pages	14
Journal	Autism
Volume	11
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361307075713
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2007
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Attachment
Autism
Q-Sort
Secure base
Social subtypes

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AU - Swinkels, Sophie H.N.

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Autism and attachment: The attachment Q-sort

Abstract

Keywords

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