Insecure and disorganised attachment in children with a pervasive developmental disorder: Relationship with social interaction and heart rate

This study on children with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD; N = 32 ), children with developmental language disorder (N = 22), and normally dev eloping children (N = 28) sought to answer questions concerning attachment and autistic behaviour. We could replicate the finding that children with a PDD are able to develop secure attachment relationships to their primary c aregiver. Children with PDD who had an insecure attachment showed fewer soc ial initiatives and responses than children with PDD who had a secure attac hment, even when the insecurely and securely attached PDD children were mat ched on chronological and mental age. Children with both a PDD and mental r etardation were more often classified as disorganised. Three findings suggested that a disorganised attachment does not merely ref lect the presence of "autistic" behaviour: (1) children with PDD did not re veal higher rates of a disorganised attachment than matched comparison chil dren; (2) having a PDD diagnosis and having a disorganised attachment were found to be associated with opposite effects on an ethological measure of l evel of behavioural organisation; and (3) a disorganised attachment but not a PDD diagnosis was associated with an increase in heart rate during parti ng with the caregiver and a decrease in heart rate during reunion.