The effects of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on attachment : experiences of mothers from diverse South African socio-economic groups.

[摘要] Attachment theory is concerned with the relational 'tie’ that exists between a mother and herchild, which is said to play an imperative role in a child’s mental development and futureattachment relationships. Although there is extensive research on attachment theory on aninternational scale, there is a paucity of information with regard to this in the South Africancontext.The object of this study is to investigate mothers’ experiences of attachment with their childwho has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition this research aims to investigatewhether this attachment relationship between a mother and her ASD child differs, or is thesame across diverse socio-economic groups in the South African context.This research was qualitative in nature, which elicited rich, descriptive and personal accountsof mothers’ experiences of attachment with their ASD child across diverse socio-economicgroups. Twelve participants from advantaged and disadvantaged communities fromJohannesburg and the greater Johannesburg area were invited to participate in this study.Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic contentanalysis. Seven themes emerged from this study which explored mothers’ experiences ofattachment with their ASD child. In addition, similarities and differences were found inmothers experiences of attachment across the diverse socio-economic groups.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand