Conduct Disorder/Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Attachment: A Meta-Analysis
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Jennifer Theule; Kylee E. Hurl; Kristene Cheung; Clarisa Markel; Sarah M. Germain
- Source
- Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology. 2:232-255
- Subject
- education
05 social sciences
Odds ratio
medicine.disease
050105 experimental psychology
Conduct disorder
Meta-analysis
Oppositional defiant
mental disorders
medicine
Attachment theory
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Family systems
Life-span and Life-course Studies
Psychology
Law
Applied Psychology
050104 developmental & child psychology
Clinical psychology
- Language
- ISSN
- 2199-465X
2199-4641
To summarize the literature on and clarify the magnitude of the association between conduct disorder/oppositional defiant disorder (CD/ODD) and attachment and to search for moderators of this relationship. A meta-analysis was conducted in order to elucidate the potential relationship between attachment style and CD/ODD symptoms and to establish the size of the effect. An extensive literature search was conducted through multiple databases for published and unpublished works. The main finding from this study indicated that there is a moderate relationship between CD/ODD symptoms and attachment insecurity. The standardized mean difference in attachment insecurity between individuals with and without CD/ODD was large. There was a strong relationship between CD/ODD symptoms and disorganized attachment symptoms. The weighted odds ratio for the presence of disorganized attachment in individuals with and without CD/ODD was large. No significant moderators were identified. The results of this study demonstrate that individuals with CD/ODD are much more likely to have an insecure or disorganized attachment than individuals without CD/ODD, but that it is not assured.