Differentiating "Attachment Difficulties" From Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Qualitative Interviews With Experienced Health Care Professionals.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

"Attachment difficulties" is an umbrella term often used to describe various forms of non-secure attachment. Differentiating "attachment difficulties" from autism spectrum disorder (hereafter autism) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been characterized as challenging. Few studies have explored how this happens in practice, from the perspective of professionals.

Design

Qualitative study.

Methods

We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with (n = 17) healthcare professionals from five NHS Foundation Trusts in the United Kingdom. Participants were recruited using a combination of snowballing, convenience and purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach.

Results

We identified six interrelated theme

SUBMITTER: Coughlan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8860234 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature