Doing things differently: Exploring attachment patterns and parental intentions in families where a child has a diagnosis of autism

Bond, Nicholas; Dallos, Rudi; McKenzie, Rebecca

doi:10.1177/1359104520907141

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…These questions were coded using the DMM method of analysing adult attachment-related discourse (Crittenden & Landini, 2011). Although this relatively short section does not allow the specificity of a full Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), used qualitatively for case formulation in this way, such analysis has proved fruitful in studies using a similar methodology (Dallos et al, 2020;Grey et al, 2021). Interviews took place by Zoom owing to COVID-related restrictions.…”

Section: Study Rational and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the triadic parent–child–sibling relationship: How do mothers’ view of their children impact sibling relationships?

Drzymala

Grey

Fowler

2022

Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments

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The functioning of the sibling subsystem is often overlooked in research on attachment relationships, despite its both threatening and protective potential. Taking a multi-case approach, this study sought to build theory regarding how the mother–child relationship and the mother’s view of each of her children impact the sibling relationship. Three families were assessed using the Meaning of the Child Interview, a method of analysing parental discourse in a semi-structured interview to understand the parent–child relationship, and a sibling free-play procedure. The study illustrated how in more struggling relationships, the child represented a particular threat or challenge to the mother, and how the child’s accommodation to this influenced the dynamics of the sibling relationship. The sibling may be recruited to care for their sibling to ease demands on their mother, serve as an ally with their mother against their sibling, or siblings may support each other to compensate for what is lacking in the child–parent relationship. This was further influenced by wider systemic challenges to both children and mother, such as parental conflict or settling in a new country.

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Section: Study Rational and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the triadic parent–child–sibling relationship: How do mothers’ view of their children impact sibling relationships?

Drzymala

Grey

Fowler

2022

Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments

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SAFE, a Manualised Version of Attachment Narrative Therapy Designed for Families of Children with an Autism Diagnosis

Stancer

2022

Palgrave Texts in Counselling and Psychotherapy

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Feeling ‘like you’re on … a prison ship’ – Understanding the caregiving and attachment narratives of parents of autistic children

Grey

Dallos

Stancer

2021

Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments

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This study explored the caregiving and attachment relationships of parents of autistic children, analysing 16 Parent Development Interviews conducted as part of a larger project. The interviews were analysed using attachment theory–driven discourse analysis, namely, the Adult Attachment Interview and Meaning of the Child Interview methods of evaluating relational discourse for transformations of meaning with a self-protective function. A multiple case-study approach was used to build an explanatory model of the caregiving and parent–child relationships of the whole sample. The study found a high level of trauma in the parents’ early childhood that shaped the way they interpreted their child and the parent–child relationship, often undermining these parents’ intentions to form more positive relationships with their own children. An interpersonal understanding of the problems of these families is suggested, seeing difficulties as residing in relationships, maintained by a circular process of ruptures, as parent and child seek to protect themselves from the pain and shame inherent in the experience of ‘disconnection’, and the apparent failure of the parents’ hope for a better relationship with their children than they experienced as children. This may be exacerbated by commonly available autism narratives, which tend to essentialise problems, mechanise parental understanding of their children and encourage parents to experience their child as fundamentally separate, challenging the caregiving system. Clinicians supporting families with autistic children may be assisted by attending to this meaning-making process, seeking creative alternatives to help these parents realise their positive intentions that do not support a shame-based cycle.

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Doing things differently: Exploring attachment patterns and parental intentions in families where a child has a diagnosis of autism

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Exploring the triadic parent–child–sibling relationship: How do mothers’ view of their children impact sibling relationships?

Exploring the triadic parent–child–sibling relationship: How do mothers’ view of their children impact sibling relationships?

SAFE, a Manualised Version of Attachment Narrative Therapy Designed for Families of Children with an Autism Diagnosis

Feeling ‘like you’re on … a prison ship’ – Understanding the caregiving and attachment narratives of parents of autistic children

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