Attachment security in infants at-risk for autism spectrum disorders

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A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants
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A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants

Published on: October 4, 2015

John D Haltigan1, Naomi V Ekas, Ronald Seifer

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. jhaltiga@illinois.edu

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|September 23, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Infants at genetic risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show similar attachment security and disorganization as other infants. However, these Autism Spectrum Disorder siblings may express secure attachment differently.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Attachment security is crucial for child development.
  • Understanding early attachment in infants at genetic risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is vital.
  • Limited data exists on attachment patterns in infants with familial ASD risk before diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine attachment security and disorganization in 15-month-old infant siblings of children with (ASD-sibs) or without (COMP-sibs) an ASD.
  • To identify differences in attachment distributions between ASD-sibs and COMP-sibs.

Main Methods:

  • The study analyzed attachment security and disorganization using established protocols.
  • Participants included 51 infant siblings of children with ASD and 34 infant siblings of children without ASD.
  • Attachment patterns were assessed at 15 months of age.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were found in overall attachment insecurity or disorganization between ASD-sibs and COMP-sibs.
  • ASD-sibs exhibited a disproportionately higher rate of specific secure attachment subclassifications (B1-B2) compared to COMP-sibs.
  • These findings suggest potential differences in the *expression* of secure attachment within the ASD-sibling group.

Conclusions:

  • Infants with a genetic predisposition for ASD do not appear to be at higher risk for insecure or disorganized attachment.
  • ASD-sibs may form secure bonds with caregivers, but their behavioral manifestations of security might differ from those without ASD risk.
  • Further research is needed to explore the nuances of secure attachment expression in this population.

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