In a recent study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Dr. Michal Al-Yagon of Tel Aviv University’s Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education reports that teens with learning disabilities are less likely to have secure attachment relationships to their mothers and teachers compared to peers without learning disabilities. For these youngsters, more positive relationships with the significant adults in their lives — including parents and teachers — can improve learning and “socioemotional” experiences.

From the press release:

For this study, Dr. Al-Yagon measured the socioemotional state and the security of attachments to parents and teachers for 181 adolescents with learning disabilities and 188 with typical development, all between the ages of 15-17. Participants completed a series of questionnaires regarding their attachment to their mother and father, perceived teacher availability and rejection, loneliness, experience of positive and negative emotions and behavioral problems.

Adolescents with learning disabilities were discovered to have less secure attachments with significant adult figures compared to their non-disabled peers, which had a direct impact on their socioemotional state. Within the disabled group, those who had more secure attachments to their mother and father, or who considered their teacher caring and available, exhibited fewer negative emotions, feelings of loneliness, and behavior problems — all of which can interfere with learning.

These findings can help guide clinicians in developing effective treatment strategies, says Dr. Al-Yagon. Examples include family intervention techniques that focus on creating more secure attachments between parents and children, or school workshops to help teachers understand the needs of their learning disabled students and make more of an effort to include them in classroom activities.

While social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties cannot be entirely avoided, Dr. Al-Yagon believes that a little effort, care, and attention can go a long way toward helping learning disabled children and teens feel happier and more secure. “Parents and teachers should be aware not just of academic difficulties, but also of socioemotional difficulties — and work to treat them. They should not avoid or ignore issues such as depression or aggression, which are another dimension of the original problem,” she advises.

The only thing I’m wondering if this is not again a case of correlational research gone causal. From what I read in the research there is a clear correlation, but with this approach it is very difficult to pinpoint the causal relation?

Abstract of the research:

Investigation of the role of adolescents’ patterns of close relationships with significant adults may be of particular interest in populations with learning disabilities (“LD”) during adolescence, because attachment relationship variables may act as risk or protective factors during this developmental period when trajectories are set that can lead to difficulties in adulthood. Specifically, this study examined a model of protective factors comprising patterns of close relationships between adolescents (n=369; 53 % female; aged 15–17) and significant adults (mother, father, homeroom teacher) for explaining adolescents’ socioemotional and behavioral adjustment, comparing adolescents with and without LD. The current assessment of adolescents’ socioemotional adjustment included both internalizing aspects (loneliness, affect, and internalizing behavior syndrome) and externalizing aspects (externalizing behavior syndrome). On most measures, significant group differences emerged between adolescents with LD (n=181) and adolescents with typical development (n=188). SEM analysis found high fit between the theoretical model and empirical findings. Both groups showed similar paths between adolescent-mother attachment and adolescent adjustment, whereas significant group differences emerged for the contribution of adolescents’ close relationships with fathers and teachers to adolescents’ adjustment. The discussion focuses on the possible unique value of close relationships with each attachment figure at home and at school for adolescents with LD versus typical development.