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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Use of a Video Scoring Anchor for Rapid Serial Assessment of Social Communication in Toddlers

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Published on: March 14, 2018

Autism and attachment: the Attachment Q-Sort.

Anna H Rutgers¹, Marinus H Van Ijzendoorn, Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg

¹Leiden University,The Netherlands.

Autism : the International Journal of Research and Practice

|March 14, 2007

Summary

Children with autism demonstrate secure attachment. The Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) effectively assesses this, offering an alternative to the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) for this population.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit secure attachment behaviors towards caregivers.
Traditional methods like the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) have limitations in assessing attachment in special populations.
The Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) offers a flexible alternative for evaluating secure-base behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate an Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) criterion sort specifically for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
To assess the content validity of the AQS for observing attachment behaviors in children with ASD.
To determine the applicability of the AQS for different social subtypes within the autism spectrum.

Main Methods:

Experts in autism (N=59 clinicians and researchers) defined AQS criterion sorts.
Content validity of the AQS for children with ASD was tested.
Separate criterion sorts were developed for aloof and active-but-odd subtypes, then combined.

Main Results:

A combined AQS criterion sort for children with autism was successfully defined by experts.
The developed AQS criterion sort demonstrated content validity for assessing attachment in children with ASD.
The original AQS, with minor modifications, is suitable for observing attachment behaviors in children with autism.

Conclusions:

The Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) is a viable tool for assessing secure attachment in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The AQS can be adapted to capture the nuances of attachment in special populations, including different ASD social subtypes.
This research supports the use of the AQS as a valuable instrument in autism research and clinical practice.