A systematic review on attachment and down syndrome

ABSTRACT

Background

To document whether the sociocognitive peculiarities of people with Down Syndrome impact the construction of attachment at different ages, a systematic review of the literature was carried out.

Method

This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, was conducted on three databases: psycINFO, MEDLINE, and Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection (1975–2021). Twelve studies were included.

Results

Most children with Down syndrome develop specific attachment patterns in infancy and childhood, and around half of them become secure. However, the risk of exhibiting atypical/unclassifiable or disorganised attachment is higher among children with Down syndrome compared to typically developing children. Findings are mixed regarding the specific role of cognitive disability.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the fact that Down syndrome does not preclude the establishment of secure attachment. However, more research is needed to understand what the unclassifiable category represents in terms of attachment.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• Down syndrome
• relationships
• internal working model
• intellectual disability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).