Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Disorganized attachment representation and atypical parenting in young school age children with externalizing
Jonathan Green1, Charlie Stanley, Sarah Peters
1Academic Child Psychiatry, University of Manchester, UK. jonathan.green@manchester.ac.uk
Abstract:
We investigated the relationship of child attachment representation, psychopathology, and maternal atypical parenting in a high risk sample. Sixty-one consecutive clinical referrals with externalizing disorder aged 4 - 9 years were assessed for attachment representations measured with Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST), atypical parental expressed emotion (EE), maternal mood, and parent and teacher ratings of child behaviour. Disorganized attachment representations were found in 58% of cases, independent of ADHD symptoms. Pervasive disorganization was associated with very high maternal EE. Attachment status, maternal depression, and ADHD diagnosis were independently associated with parent-rated child behaviour problems; teacher ratings were associated with child's age and ADHD status. Disorganized attachment shows a high prevalence and independent associations with attention deficit symptomatology and maternal EE.
Related Concept Videos
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Attachment
Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles
Attachment Styles
