The Development of a Semi‐Structured Interview to Investigate the Attachment‐Related Experiences of Adults with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

A procedure was developed by which the attachment‐related experiences of adults with learning disabilities could be explored and the reliability and construct validity of the measure were investigated. Thirty‐one subjects with mild to severe learning disabilities were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview and a third of the subjects were interviewed again three months later. To examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the measure, the relationship between it and measures of self‐esteem, independence and general intelligence was investigated. The reliability of the procedure was found to be high over time (kappa = 0.80) and, as predicted, it was found to be significantly related to self‐esteem and level of independent behaviour in the home. It was not found to be related to general intellectual functioning. Unexpectedly, it was not found to be related to level of independent behaviour outside the home.