An Overview Of Reactive Attachment Disorder

Facilitating Developmental Attachment is a book about the theory behind and a treatment for attachment disorder, focusing on children who have been fostered or adopted due to abuse or neglect. Daniel Hughes gives a detailed therapy plan of how to help these particular children begin to form the secure attachment that is crucial to living a fulfilling life.

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) was first introduced just over 20 years ago, with the publication of DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). In the DSM-IV. The disorder is defined by aberrant social behavior that appears in early childhood and is evident cross contextually(1994). The disorder describes aberrant social behaviors in young children that are believed to derive from being reared in caregiving environments lacking species-typical nurturance and stimulation, such as in instances such as maltreatment or institutional rearing. (First, M., & Tasman, A. 2010) . In cases of RAD two major types of abnormalities have been cited; these include an emotionally withdrawn/inhibited type and an indiscriminately social/disinhibited pattern (First, M., & Tasman, A. 2010).Conditions in in foreign orphanages and institutions such as, multiple caregivers, maltreatment, abuse, neglect, and others contribute to the inability for internationally adopted children to form secure attachments. All of these factors contribute to internationally adopted children being at a higher risk to develop attachment disorders such as RAD and other behavioral problems.

Reactive Attachment Disorder is a common infancy/early childhood disorder. Reactive attachment disorder is located under the trauma- and stressors-related disorder section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Fifth Edition. It is normally diagnosed when an infant or child experience expresses a minimal attachment to a figure for nurturance, comfort, support, and protection. Although children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder have the ability to select their attachment figure, they fail to show behavioral manifestation because they had limited access during the early developmental stage. Some disturbed behaviors include diminished or absence of positive emotions toward caregiver. In addition,

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a condition that develops when an infant or young child doesn’t form healthy emotional attachments with their parents or caregivers.

The Strange Situation is meant to be a snapshot of the relationship between infant and caregiver, and provide insight into the dyadic patterns that define this bond. Securely attached children are thought to have a primary caregiver who is sensitive, available and receptive to their infants needs. Insecure-avoidant children have primary caregivers who are intrusive, controlling and hurtful. These caregivers may be present in the infant’s life but unable to understand their infants needs, and provide the correct response. Caregivers of insecure-ambivalent infants have been found to be unresponsive to the needs of the infant, and very often unavailable. The effect of this treatment is that the infant is starved for affection and attention. The infant also feels the need to amplify their needs in an effort to reach their caregiver (Barnett & Vondra, 1999).

It mainly focuses on developing a safe, stable, nurturing environment with positive interactions with caregivers (Shi, 2014). Individuals with reactive attachment disorder require change and the restructuring of the development process. Per United Behavioral Health (2016), possible therapeutic techniques include infant/parent psychotherapy and interaction guidance. The infant/parent psychotherapy focuses on “attachment, trauma, cognitive behavioral, and social learning theories” to treat traumatized children and families with a final goal to restore a sense of trust and safety within the relationship and family (United Behavioral Health, 2016). Whereas interaction guidance is a strength based intervention using positive reinforcement to reshape behavior and observable interactions within the relationship, which is comparable to behavioral therapy. In addition to those two types of therapy, psychoeducation for caregivers and inexperienced parents is important for them to learn that their abilities as a parent affects their child. Not much research has been done do to the ethical standards and “do no harm” to

Reactive attachment disorder is described (Kress & Paylo, 2014) as a disorder in which the child received extreme neglect by the primary caregiver and as a result does not form emotional bonds with others. Recent studies, state Kress & Paylo (2014), show that all children in order to develop emotional bonding with others need their basic physical and emotional requirements met. This was also the case with the little girl in the HBO &

Reactive Attachment Disorder is a psychological disorder which effects children and adults in the United States. Reactive Attachment Disorder or “RAD”, “is a rare but serious condition in which an infant or young child doesn't establish healthy attachments with parents or caregivers” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Adolescents suffer from reactive attachment disorder in the United States due to a lack of appropriate parent care which can be cured through seeking the assistance of professionals.

This paper explores the psychological disorder known as Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). It will investigate how a child diagnosed with RAD will have an inefficient connection with his or her caregiver during an early age. RAD is considered a serious disorder which affects infant and young children who have difficulties establishing healthy relationship with their caregiver or parents. The flawed relationship will affect the child’s ability to establish normal affiliation with other human being. Thus, a child’s rapport was a major determinant in the etiology of

Reactive attachment disorder is a unique disorder in its onset, impact on all aspects of life, and diversity of subtypes. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – IV (DSM- IV), reactive attachment disorder was characterized by two subtypes; the disinhibited and the inhibited subtypes. The inhibited subtype was identified as being withdrawn, unemotional, and having difficulty forming any sort of significant relationship with others. The disinhibited subtype’s most defining characteristic was indiscriminate friendliness, and overwhelming trust for strangers. While the two subtypes seem like completely different disorders that have no relation, the reason they were originally put together in the DSM-IV was their origins. These disorders originate from severe maltreatment in childhood, and are fairly rare because of the level of severity necessary for the disorder to develop. Their common origin hints at a problem within the attachment relationship as a potential source of difficulties. The name itself is derived from a reaction to pathogenic care in early childhood.

Attachment theory in developmental terms is a close secure lasting bond that occurs between an infant/child and a care provider. This is a deep connection that starts to develop from the time of conception and continues on to flourish and establish itself in the early years of the child’s life. Bowlby, (1998) suggests that a child does need to develop a foundation with at least one primary care provider for their social and emotional development.

Attachment disorder refers to disorder of mood, behavior or social relationships. It occurs due to failure in a normal attachment to care givers in early childhood that results in behavioral disturbances and problems. Some factors could be neglect, abuse and abrupt separation. In Sam’s case the abrupt separation would be the main factor of the attachment disorder. Emotional and behavioral disturbances are found in young children of school age. However, it can happen in adult age people as well. Two theories about the definition and diagnosis of attachment disorder are known. One is known as an attachment theory that is based on scientific inquiry and the other is clinically based called pseudospecific theory (Berlin,

The first one a child forms in their life is between themselves and their mother, which soon becomes the foundation and is representative of how the child will form relationships with the world around them. Reactive Attachment Disorder is a condition in which a child has difficulty forming lasting relationships and forming attachments’ with caregivers. “They often show nearly a complete lack of ability to be genuinely affectionate with others. They typically fail to develop a conscience and do not learn to trust. They do not allow people to in control of them due to this trust issue” (American Academy of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, 2012, Causes of Reactive Attachment Disorder, para 1). They also state that, “if a child is not attached- does not form a loving bond with the mother- he does not develop an attachment to the rest of mankind.” There are two types of behavior that a child with RAD can inhibit. Some children have symptoms of just one type, while others exhibit both types of

The child expects the parent to be responsive and aware of their needs at all times, Avoidant Attachment: Parents are unavailable, unresponsive and at time rejecting. The child will not notice when the presence of the adult is back in the room or the children may become independent at an early age, Ambivalent Attachment: This type of attachment the mother is not consistent with her responsiveness to the child’s needs. The infants were the most anxious, insecure and demanding at home and lastly Disorganized Attachment: explains the parent’s inconsistency of reliability and response to the child’s needs. Often these children may suffer from sexual or physical abuse at home; this reflects the state of likeness but at the same time

Attachment theory is a concept that explores the importance of attachment in respect to direct development. “It is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space” (Bowlby, 1969; McLeod, 2009). It is the relationship that develops within the first year of the infant’s life between them and their caregiver. The theory also relates to the quality of the attachment that is shown in the behavior of the infant (Rieser-Danner, 2016). Attachment theory shows that infants need a close nurturing relationship with their caregiver in order to have a healthy relationship. Lack of response from the caregiver