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Brief Report: Attachment Security in Infants At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Little is known about attachment security and disorganization in children who are at genetic risk for an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prior to a possible diagnosis. The present study examined distributions of attachment security and disorganization at 15-months of age in a sample of infant siblings of older children with (ASD-sibs; n = 51) or without (COMP-sibs; n = 34) an ASD. ASD-sibs were not more or less likely to evince attachment insecurity or disorganization than COMP-sibs. However, relative to COMP-sibs, the rate of B1–B2 secure subclassifications was disproportionately larger in the ASD-sib group. Results suggest that ASD-sibs are not less likely to form secure affectional bonds with their caregivers than COMP-sibs, but may differ from COMP-sibs in their expression of attachment security.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by NIH grants R01HD047417 and T32 HD007473-14, Autism Speaks, and the Marino Autism Research Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel Street, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    John D. Haltigan

  2. University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    John D. Haltigan, Naomi V. Ekas & Daniel S. Messinger

  3. Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI, USA

    Ronald Seifer

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  1. John D. Haltigan
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  2. Naomi V. Ekas
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  3. Ronald Seifer
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  4. Daniel S. Messinger
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Correspondence to John D. Haltigan.

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Haltigan, J.D., Ekas, N.V., Seifer, R. et al. Brief Report: Attachment Security in Infants At-Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 962–967 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1107-7

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