Differentiating "Attachment Difficulties" From Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Qualitative Interviews With Experienced Health Care Professionals.
Authors
van IJzendoorn, Marinus H
Woolgar, Matt
Weisblatt, Emma JL
Duschinsky, Robbie
Publication Date
2021Journal Title
Front Psychol
ISSN
1664-1078
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Volume
12
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Coughlan, B., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Woolgar, M., Weisblatt, E. J., & Duschinsky, R. (2021). Differentiating "Attachment Difficulties" From Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Qualitative Interviews With Experienced Health Care Professionals.. Front Psychol, 12 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.780128
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: "Attachment difficulties" is an umbrella term often used to describe various forms of non-secure attachment. Differentiating "attachment difficulties" from autism spectrum disorder (hereafter autism) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been characterized as challenging. Few studies have explored how this happens in practice, from the perspective of professionals. DESIGN: Qualitative study. METHODS: We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with (n = 17) healthcare professionals from five NHS Foundation Trusts in the United Kingdom. Participants were recruited using a combination of snowballing, convenience and purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach. RESULTS: We identified six interrelated themes that might reflect difficulties with differential conceptualization. These include: a clinical lexicon of attachment; approaching attachment with caution; contextual factors; perceived characteristic behaviors; assessing attachment and adjacent supports; spotlighting intervention and dual conceptualization. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate some of the ways suspicions around attachment are raised in practice. We advocate for more dialogue between research and practice communities on issues of differential conceptualization. We call for collaboration between a panel of experts consisting of attachment and neurodevelopmental orientated practitioners and researchers, to clarify issues around differentiating between attachment difficulties, ASD, and ADHD.
Keywords
Psychology, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, attachment–a strong affectional bond, assessment, qualitative analysis
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.780128
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/334278
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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