April 27 and 29 2021, Airi Hautamäki and Milla Syrjänen will discuss their research into ADHD using the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM). Their studies explored the self-protective attachment strategies of adults with ADHD, the sensitivity they displayed in dyadic interaction with their under 3-years-old children, the history of the dangers in their family of origin, and how the DMM might contribute to tailoring of individualized psychological treatment. They used DMM-AAI assessments for the parents, and DMM CARE-Index assessments for the parental sensitivity in parent-child interactions.
Syrjänen, Milla; Hautamäki, Airi; Pleshkova, Natalia; Maliniemi, Sinikka (2018). “Adults with ADHD – A retrospective account of the family systems and attachment relationships”. Clinical Neuropsychiatry. 15:2: 123–131. ISSN 1724-4935.
Syrjänen, Milla; Hautamäki, Airi; Pleshkova, Natalia; Maliniemi, Sinikka (2019-04-03). “Attachment and sensitivity among parents with ADHD – a multiple-case study”. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 24 (2): 156–166. doi:10.1080/13632752.2019.1602985. hdl:10138/320152. ISSN 1363-2752.
Syrjänen, M., Hautamäki, A., Pleshkova, N. and Maliniemi, S. (2019), Self-protective strategies of parents with ADHD and their children as mediated by sensitivity – a multiple-case study, Journal of Children’s Services, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 278-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-09-2018-0018
Please join us as Milla and Airi share their findings and facilitate a discussion.
Session details
Date session A: Tuesday, 27 April 2021 (live, recorded)
Date session B: Thursday, 29 April 2021 (video replay)
Length: 90+ minutes
Price: Free
Host/Facilitator: Milla Syrjänen and Airi Hautamäki
Platform: Zoom meeting
Sponsor: Conflict Science Institute
Multiple sessions: Each session will be unique, please join both! Invite your colleagues.
Session times:
Session A (US/EU/Africa/India): Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. Seattle (UTC -7) (11:00 a.m. in Dallas; noon in Miami; 5:00 p.m. in London; 6:00 p.m. in Finland/EU; 6:00 p.m. in Cape Town; 9:00 p.m. in New Delhi; midnight in Bangkok.)
Session B (US/EU/AUS/Asia): Thursday, at 1:00 p.m. in Seattle (3:00 p.m. in Dallas; 4:00 p.m. in Miami; 9:00 p.m. in London; 10:00 p.m. in Finland/EU; and (in Australia/Thailand/China on Friday) at 8:00 a.m. in Sydney. (AUS/ASIA participants should confirm their local start time against Seattle time.)
Session hosts

Airi Hautamäki is professor emerita in social psychology and psychology, Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki, Finland. She was a founding board member of the International Association for the Study of Attachment (IASA).
Airi has written numerous papers and books, including:
- Hautamäki, Airi (Ed.), (2014). The Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation – Theory and Practice. University of Helsinki, SSKH, Skrifter, 37.
- Airi Hautamäki, Laura Hautamäki, Leena Neuvonen & Sinikka Maliniemi-Piispanen (2010) Transmission of attachment across three generations, European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7:5, 618-634, DOI: 10.1080/17405620902983519
- Farnfield, Steve; Hautamäki, Airi; Nørbech, Peder; Sahhar, Nicola (2010). “DMM assessments of attachment and adaptation: Procedures, validity and utility”. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 15 (3): 313–328.

Milla Syrjänen is a PhD student at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. She uses the three recently published articles concerning ADHD and attachment in her PhD Thesis, which professor Airi Hautamäki, University of Helsinki, has supervised. Milla Syrjänen is the corresponding author of the three articles.