had never been given another diagnosis, three had previously been given other diagnoses
and twelve had current or recurring problems. According to self-reported diagnoses, eight
were depressed at the time of the interview and three others had previously been
depressed. Six were currently experiencing an anxiety disorder and two had histories of
anxiety. Four had other current diagnoses and two had other previous diagnoses, including
schizoaffective disorder, ADHD and dyslexia. In total, twelve participants had mood
disorder at the time of the interview. Of the control group, thirteen were experiencing
mood disorder when they completed the AAI (assessed using the SCID-I and II and the
BDI). These proportions were not significantly different from each other in a two-tailed
chi-square test (χ2 = 0.11, df = 1, p = .74).
The group from which the controls were drawn was aged 20-50 (mean age 34)
with a mean full-scale IQ of 115 (range 88-146). Group members were categorised as
social classes 1-4 on the Registrar General’s scale (OPCS, 1990), with the majority being
classes 2 and 3.
Descriptive data
• Scores on theory of mind measures
Scores on the Eyes task ranged from 17 to 34, with a mean of 25.6 out of 36. On the
theory of mind Strange Stories, scores ranged from 6 to 10, with a mean of 8.1.
• AAI categories
All participants were assigned to an AAI category on the basis of their interviews, using
standard criteria (Main & Goldwyn, 1998). In several cases it was necessary to assign two
or three alternative classifications; in each case the first choice is reported below. The
three organised categories are secure/autonomous (F), insecure/preoccupied (E) and
insecure/dismissing (Ds). Participants assigned to one of the disorganised categories -
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