Psychopathy is a specific syndrome that predicts future violent and aggressive behavior in adults. Studies in youth and adults have demonstrated a strong association between early traumatic incidents and later dissocial behavior. Moreover, the impact of personality pathology and emotional dysregulation on aggressive and violent behavior is well established. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between early traumatization and psychopathic traits in adolescents. The present study examined associations between both general dimensions of personality pathology and early traumatic experiences and the dimensions of psychopathy in 170 male and 171 female adolescent detainees. Analyses revealed associations between physical abuse, emotional dysregulation and psychopathic traits in delinquent boys but not in delinquent girls. Hypothesized relationships between trauma, personality pathology could only be confirmed in the lifestyle and antisocial, but not in the core affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy.

Background: Few studies in clinical attachment research to date have examined children with an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. This is surprising for two reasons: first, there are a number of parallels between the behaviors of children with an insecure and disorganized attachment and the behaviors of children with an ADHD diagnosis. Second, secure attachment has a positive effect on the development of skills in areas in which children with ADHD demonstrate problems (e.g., attention span, impulse control). There are currently no findings on whether or not and how insecure and disorganized attachment and ADHD affect children’s emotion recognition ability. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, part exploratory and part hypothesis-driven in the context of basic research. A clinical sample of 5- to 10-year-old children with an ADHD diagnosis and their parents is to be compared to a non-clinical unaffected control group. Over a period of 3 years, 80 subjects and their parents are to be recruited in each group for participation in the study. Discussion: This study is the first to examine links between attachment, emotion recognition ability, and ADHD. It is also the first to include not just children with ADHD but also their mothers and fathers in its design. The findings should help reduce the research gap and generate more knowledge for family interventions in the case of ADHD.

Zusammenfassung Bei der Untersuchung von ADHS und Bindung werden üblicherweise Kinder mit allen denkbaren Ausprägungen von ADHS betrachtet. Diese Studie nahm jene Kinder in den Fokus, die eine einfache bzw. nicht näher bezeichnete Ausprägung von ADHS aufwiesen, um gezielt Aussagen zu dieser bestimmten Gruppe innerhalb der Störung machen zu können. Die Bindungsrepräsentationen, ADHS-Symptome sowie externalisierende Verhaltensweisen wurden bei 93 Kindern im Alter von fünf bis neun Jahren erhoben, von denen 48 Kinder eine ADHS-Diagnose hatten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen großen Unterschied in der Verteilung der Bindungsklassifikationen zwischen Kindern mit und ohne ADHS. Die Ausprägungen externalisierender Verhaltensweisen unterscheiden sich stark zwischen den einzelnen Bindungsmustern. Bindung scheint einen wichtigen Faktor in der Ätiologie von ADHS darzustellen, allerdings lassen diese Ergebnisse darauf schließen, dass sowohl ADHS als auch externalisierende Verhaltensweisen als globales Konstrukt zu unspez... Summary Attachment and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Primary School Children with ADHD When examining children with ADHD, attachment research does not usually differentiate between the different clinical pictures within the disorder. This study examines attachment and ADHD in children who display a simple or unspecified form of ADHD, in order to be able to draw specific conclusions about this particular group. Attachment, ADHD symptoms as well as externalizing behavior problems were assessed from 93 children aged five to nine years, 48 of whom had an ADHD diagnosis. The distributions of attachment representations between children with ADHD and those without ADHD differ greatly. In addition, externalizing behavior problems differ between attachment classifications. Attachment seems to be an important factor in the etiology of ADHD, however, ADHD as well as externalizing behavior problems as a global construct are too unspecific to determine the influence of attachment on the disorder. Subsequent studi...