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Attachment in Toddlers with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders

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Abstract

Attachment was assessed in toddlers with Autistic Disorder (n = 20), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (n = 14), Mental Retardation (n = 12), Language Development Disorder (n = 16), and a non-clinical comparison group (n = 18), using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Children in the clinical groups were more often disorganized and less often securely attached. Severity of autism was associated with more attachment insecurity, and lower developmental level increased the chance for disorganized attachment. Attachment disorganization was related to increased heart rate during the SSP. Controlling for basal cortisol and developmental level, more autistic symptoms predicted lower cortisol responses to the SSP. The findings support the importance of disorganized attachment for children with autism.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part by the following grants: ZonMw Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Grant for Cure Autism Now, and The Korczak Foundation. Marinus van IJzendoorn is supported by the NWO/SPINOZA Prize of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg by a VIDI grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Child Studies, Centre for Child and Family Studies, University of Leiden, P.O.Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Fabiënne B. A. Naber, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg & Marinus H. van IJzendoorn

  2. Rudolph Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Fabiënne B. A. Naber, Claudine Dietz, Emma van Daalen & Herman van Engeland

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Sophie H. N. Swinkels & Jan K. Buitelaar

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  1. Fabiënne B. A. Naber
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  2. Sophie H. N. Swinkels
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  3. Jan K. Buitelaar
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Correspondence to Fabiënne B. A. Naber.

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Naber, F.B.A., Swinkels, S.H.N., Buitelaar, J.K. et al. Attachment in Toddlers with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 1123–1138 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0255-2

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