Attachment, Temperament, and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Key Concepts in Developmental Psychology

The Three-Category System to Describe the Severity of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Overview

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is classified into three levels based on severity, language skills, cognitive abilities, and behavioral characteristics. Understanding these categories helps in diagnosis and intervention planning.

Level	Main Features
Level 3 ASD	Limited or nonexistent language skills Display behaviors such as hand-flapping and rocking Limited range of interests Most have intellectual disabilities May experience behaviors that can cause serious injuries
Level 2 ASD	Capable of some degree of verbal communication Mild degrees of cognitive impairment Difficulty looking at situations from others' perspectives Often utter repetitive words or phrases, inappropriate for the situation Limited capacity for normal conversations and social interactions
Level 1 ASD	Age-appropriate language and cognitive skills Most not diagnosed until later in childhood Some become intently focused on memorizing things with little personal meaning Others engage in obsessive-compulsive behaviors Inability to form friendships becomes apparent

Caregiver Characteristics and Attachment

Variables Influencing Attachment

Attachment is the emotional bond between an infant and caregiver. Both inborn predispositions and environmental factors contribute to the quality of attachment.

• Emotional responsiveness of the caregiver is crucial.

• Relationship status and mental health of the caregiver also play significant roles.

Emotional Responsiveness

• Emotional availability: The caregiver's willingness and ability to form an emotional bond with the infant.

• Economic or emotional distress can reduce a parent's investment in the relationship.

• Contingent responsiveness: Sensitivity to the child's cues and appropriate responses.

• Low responsiveness may have different effects depending on the infant's temperament.

Caregiver Relationship Factors

• High relationship satisfaction between parents increases the likelihood of secure attachment in infants.

• Parental conflict poses risks for secure attachment and may lead to emotional withdrawal in infants.

• Interferes with synchrony between parent and child.

Mental Health

• Caregiver stress and anxiety are important predictors of attachment classification.

• Stress can arise from maternal/infant health, insufficient resources, or lack of social support.

• Persistent sadness in caregivers increases the risk of insecure attachment.

Long-Term Consequences of Attachment Quality

Outcomes of Attachment Types

• Securely attached children are more sociable, positive, less aggressive, and more empathetic.

• Insecurely attached children, especially avoidant types, have less positive friendships and may become sexually active earlier.

• Adults' internal models of attachment influence their own parenting behaviors.

Cross-Cultural Research on Attachment

Patterns Across Cultures

• Attachment forms in every child, in every culture.

• Secure attachments are more common in some cultures.

• Multiple attachment systems do not lead to social-emotional deficits.

Country	Secure (%)	Avoidant (%)	Ambivalent (%)
Germany	~50	~35	~15
USA	~65	~20	~15
Japan	~65	~5	~30
Other	Varies	Varies	Varies

Additional info: Table values are inferred from typical cross-cultural studies (e.g., van IJzendoorn & Kroonenberg, 1988).

Personality, Temperament, and Self-Concept

Definitions

• Personality: The pattern in which individuals relate to people and objects around them.

• Individual differences in personality develop throughout childhood and adolescence.

• Behavioral and emotional predispositions present at birth are called temperament.

Dimensions of Temperament

Thomas and Chess's Classification

• Based on the New York Longitudinal Study.

• Three main types cover 65% of infants; others show combinations.

• Easy children (40%): Positive approach to new events, generally happy, adjust easily to change.

• Difficult children (10%): Irregular eating/sleeping, emotional negativity, irritability, resistance to change.

• Slow-to-warm-up children (15%): Few intense reactions, appear nonresponsive to familiar people.

Key Dimensions of Temperament

• Activity level

• Approach/Positive emotionality/Sociability

• Surgency/Exuberance

• Inhibition/Anxiety

• Negative emotionality/Irritability/Anger/Emotionality

• Effortful control/Task persistence

• Distractibility

Origins and Stability of Temperament

Heredity

• Temperament appears early in life, even prenatally.

• Identical twins are more alike in temperament than fraternal twins.

• Studies show higher correlations in temperament scores for identical twins.

Long-Term Stability

• Temperamental differences are stable from preschool into adulthood.

• Consistency is especially noted in behavioral inhibition.

Neurological Processes

• Differences in behavior can be traced to physiological patterns (e.g., dopamine, serotonin).

• Frontal lobe asymmetry is linked to shyness; higher right hemisphere arousal is common in shy infants.

Environment

• Temperament-environment interactions strengthen traits.

• People choose environments that fit their temperament (niche picking).

• Goodness-of-fit: The degree to which an infant's temperament is adaptable to their environment.

Gender and Age Differences

• Sex differences in temperament are often small or nonexistent.

• Stability in temperament increases with age.

• Older children's temperament reflects both inborn traits and environmental influences.

Self-Concept in Infancy

Development of Self-Concept

• Infants develop an internal model of self alongside attachment and temperament.

• Freud: Infants need to sense separateness from the mother.

• Piaget: Object permanence is necessary for self-permanence.

The Subjective Self

• First task: Realizing they are separate from others (subjective self).

• Social smiles emerge around 4 months, signaling the sense of "I".

• Subjective self is fully developed by 8–12 months.

The Objective Self

• Second task: Understanding they are an object in the world with properties (objective self).

• Self-awareness is the hallmark of the objective self.

The Mirror Self-Recognition Test

• Used to determine when a child develops initial self-awareness.

• Infants interact with their reflection; after a mark is placed on their nose, reaching for their own nose indicates self-recognition.

• Most infants between 9 and 12 months begin to show this awareness.

• Toddlers develop a proprietary attitude as their sense of self grows.