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The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: a pilot study of inter-rater reliability and face validity with adults with intellectual disabilities

Deanna Gallichan (Community Learning Disabilities Team, Livewell Southwest CIC, Plymouth, UK)
Carol George (Department of Psychology, Mills College, Oakland, California, USA)

Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities

ISSN: 2044-1282

Article publication date: 5 March 2018

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the Adult Attachment Projective (AAP) Picture System is a reliable and face valid measure of internal working models of attachment in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Design/methodology/approach

The AAPs of 20 adults with ID were coded blind by two reliable judges and classified into one of four groups: secure, dismissing, preoccupied, or unresolved. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using κ. Six participants repeated the assessment for test-retest reliability. Two independent experts rated ten cases on the links between the AAP analysis and the clinical history.

Findings

There was significant agreement between AAP judges, κ=0.677, p<0.001. Five out of six participants showed stability in their classifications over time. The majority of expert ratings were “good” or “excellent”. There was a significant inter-class correlation between raters suggesting good agreement between them r=0.51 (p<0.05). The raters’ feedback suggested that the AAP had good clinical utility.

Research limitations/implications

The inter-rater reliability, stability, face validity, and clinical utility of the AAP in this population is promising. Further examination of these findings with a larger sample of individuals with ID is needed.

Originality/value

This is the first study attempting to investigate the reliability and validity of the AAP in this population.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank: Dr Judith McBrien, who made it possible for the first author to be trained in the AAP; Dr Malcolm West who co-facilitated the AAP seminar; several assistants who supported the research: Roberta Bowie, Louise Sheppard, Sarah Parker and Sophie Bishop; Dr John Wright and Dr Helen Fletcher who generously gave up their time to be experts 1 and 2, respectively; two anonymous reviewers who commented on an earlier version of this manuscript; and most importantly, to all of the people with intellectual disabilities who generously gave up their time to participate in the study.

Citation

Gallichan, D. and George, C. (2018), "The Adult Attachment Projective Picture System: a pilot study of inter-rater reliability and face validity with adults with intellectual disabilities", Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-11-2017-0036

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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