Associations between mothers' and children's secure base scripts in ADHD and community cohorts

Abstract

This study explored the relation between mothers' and their children's secure base scripts in two samples of school-aged children: a community sample (N = 29; mean age 8.9) and a sample of children diagnosed with ADHD (N = 50; mean age 8.9). Using the Attachment Script Representation Task, mothers and children were asked to construct narratives using word prompt outlines. In addition, mothers and children completed questionnaires focusing on symptoms. The results revealed that while the link between mothers' and children's scriptedness was significant in the community, no significant association was found in the ADHD sample. In the ADHD group, maternal reports of children's symptoms were negatively linked to children's secure-base scriptedness. Implications of these findings for theory and intervention are discussed.

Keywords:

• secure base script
• mother–child relations
• attachment
• ADHD
• middle childhood

Acknowledgements

The study reported here was supported by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Promotion, Bayport, New York. The authors express appreciation to Prof. Everett Waters and Dr. Harriet Waters, of the Stony Brook Attachment Lab. We also express our greatest appreciation to Susan Brockmeyer for her contributions to the data collection and data organization for this report. Finally, we are grateful to all the mothers and children who took part in this study, and to the Suffolk County Chapter of CHADD: Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.