Attachment in Autistic Children as Measured with the Strange Situation Procedure: a systematic review and a meta-analysis

Attachment in Autistic Children as Measured with the Strange Situation Procedure: a systematic review and a meta-analysis

Attachment behavior in children

William Trottier-Dumont, Ève-Line Bussières, Audrey-Ann Deneault, Sheri Madigan, Chantal Cyr

Attachment & Human Development

Vol. 27

No. 4

2025

Routledge (Taylor & Francis)

Journal article

English

14692988

Open Access

Since the inception of attachment theory, parent-child relationships has been examined in different populations, including autistic children. Attachment in autistic children has been measured using inconsistent separation-reunion procedures, making it difficult to examine whether autistic children are more or less likely to develop a secure attachment compared to non-autistic children. This study aims to meta-analyze data from studies that have assessed attachment in autistic children using a standardized version of the Strange Situation Procedure. Using the CASCADE catalogue, we identified six studies (n = 202). Results revealed that 45.6% were classified as secure, 18.7% as avoidant, 8.5% as resistant, and 27.2% as disorganized, which was statistically similar to the proportions of attachment categories in general population. Moderator analyses revealed a higher proportion of secure attachment among older children and more recently published studies. Future research should focus on unifying methodological approaches to studying attachment in autistic children.

Haley Lesemann