Peer-reviewed article
T128. ATTACHMENT REPRESENTATIONS IN CHILDREN AT FAMILIAL HIGH RISK OF SEVERE MENTAL DISORDERS. ASSOCIATIONS WITH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, LEVEL OF FUNCTIONING, AND PSYCHOTIC EXPERIENCES
Gregersen M, Ellersgaard D, Søndergaard A, Christiani C, Hemager N et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines attachment representations in 7-year-old children whose parents have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, compared to children with no parental mental illness. The researchers measured attachment using standardized assessments and looked for links between attachment patterns and children's mental health symptoms, functioning, and psychotic experiences. Preliminary results suggest no major differences in attachment between the groups, but insecure attachment is associated with higher rates of mental health problems.
Key points
- The study includes 522 Danish children aged 7: 202 with one or both parents with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 120 with parents with bipolar disorder, and 200 with no parental diagnosis
- Attachment representations were assessed using the Story Stem Assessment Protocol
- Preliminary results show no significant differences in attachment representations between the three groups
- Higher rates of insecure and disorganized attachment are associated with increased risk of psychopathology
- The study aims to understand developmental trajectories towards mental disorders in children at familial high risk
Limitations
This is a work-in-progress study with preliminary results only, so final conclusions cannot be drawn. The abstract provides insufficient detail about the associations found between attachment and mental health outcomes to fully assess the strength of evidence.
Abstract
Abstract Background There is evidence of higher rates of insecure and disorganized attachment in infancy in children born to parents with severe mental disorders, but evidence on attachment in middle childhood for these children is lacking. This study aims to explore attachment representations in seven-year-old children born to parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. We also aim to explore possible associations between attachment and psychopathology, level of functioning, and psychotic experiences in these children. - We expect that children at familial high risk will have the highest levels of insecure and disorganized attachment. We expect that population based controls will have the lowest levels of insecure and disorganized attachment and higher levels of security than children at familial high risk. - We expect higher levels of insecure and disorganized attachment to be associated with an increased risk of psychopathology, and psychotic experiences and with lower levels of functioning, whereas we expect higher levels of secure attachment to be associated with a lower risk of psychopathology, and psychotic experiences, and with higher levels of functioning. Methods The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study VIA 7 is a prospective cohort study of 522 seven-year-old children born in Denmark. The cohort consists of children where one or both parents have been diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (N=202), children where one or both parents have been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder (N=120) and children where neither of the parents have been diagnosed with these disorders (N=200). Attachment representations were assessed with the Story Stem Assessment Protocol whereas psychopathology, level of functioning, and psychotic experiences were assessed with K-SADS. Results Data analyses are ongoing but preliminary results indicate that there are no significant differences in attachment representations between the three groups of children, but that there are associations between higher rates of insecure and disorganized attachment and a higher risk of psychopathology. Results will be presented at the SIRS-conference. Discussion Understanding attachment and its correlates in children at familial high risk of severe mental disorders is important in order to strengthen our understanding of developmental trajectories towards mental disorders in these children.