An Exploration of the Internal Working Models of Caregiver Attachments in High-Functioning Children with Autistic Disorder

Background: Previous research has investigated attachment relationships in children with autism during early childhood, with few differences found from matched control groups.  However, little is known of the attachment relationship with the primary caregiver during the period of middle childhood (ages 8-12).

Objectives: The aim in this study was to establish if there are any differences in the internal working models of the attachment relationship in children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) compared to typically developing (TD) children in terms of overall attachment security, as well as individual components of this relationship.  A secondary aim was to establish whether caregivers’ perceptions of their child’s attachment to them matched their children’s own reports.  Finally, the relationships between children’s performance on theory of mind and memory tasks and attachment security were explored.

Methods: A group of 12 children with HFA and 12 TD children were matched on verbal and overall mental age and chronological age.  Children were administered the Kerns Security Scale (KSS; Kerns, Aspelmeier, Gentzler & Grabill, 2001; Kerns, Klepac & Cole, 1996) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment - Revised (IPPA-R; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; Gullone & Robinson, 2005), and caregivers completed the same questionnaires from the view point of their child.  Children also completed a higher-order theory of mind task and an episodic memory task.

Results: There were no significant differences between the groups in the children’s reports of their attachment security, or on the subscales of trust, alienation, communication (IPPA-R), dependency or availability (KSS).  In the HFA group, there was a large correlation between children’s and caregiver’s ratings on the KSS (r = .65). Theory of mind performance in children with HFA was highly correlated with their reports of attachment security as measured by the IPPA-R (r = .86), and moderately correlated with their reports of attachment security as measured by the KSS (r = .34).  Episodic memory performance in children with HFA was highly correlated with their reports of attachment security as measured by the IPPA-R (r = .58), and moderately correlated with their reports of attachment security as measured by the KSS (r = .30).

Conclusions: The results support findings from studies of younger children with autism, showing that children with HFA can and do develop secure internal working models of attachment during middle childhood, and that theory of mind and episodic memory abilities may facilitate this development.