title: Autism and attachment: the Attachment Q-Sort.
abstract: Children with autism are able to show secure attachment behaviours to their parents/caregivers. Most studies on attachment in children with autism used a (modified) Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to examine attachment security. An advantage of the Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) over the SSP is that it can be attuned to the secure-base behaviour of children from special populations. In this study experts in the field of autism (both clinicians and researchers: N = 59) defined an AQS criterion sort for children with autism and tested its content validity. Separate criterion sorts were defined for the social subtypes aloof and active-but-odd, but the two criterion sorts could be combined into one AQS criterion sort for children with autism. It is concluded that with minor amendments the original Attachment Q-Sort is applicable in observing the attachment behaviour of children with autism.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anna H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Rutgers
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Van Ijzendoorn
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
authors.forename: Sophie H N
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swinkels
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires