Disorganized Attachment Essay

Next on the continuum of attachment styles, the insecure-anxious-ambivalent child displays an extreme reaction of distress to their caregiver’s departure and a slight inclination to explore. (Connors, 2011) Upon the return of their parent or caregiver, this child is not comforted and physically resists contact. Noted by Ainsworth in her “Strange Situation”, this child’s “interactive behaviors are relatively lacking in active initiation” (Ainsworth et al., 1978), meaning the child, seeking validation, might respond to the return of their parent but this generally includes emotional outbursts instead of taking an active approach to their parent. The insecure-avoidant pattern of attachment displays an infant who lacks a secure base and fails to respond to both the departure and return of their primary caregiver. (Ainsworth et al., 1978), Further, the “Strange Situation” displayed this child as turning away or “squirming” when contact was reestablished between child and caregiver (Connors, 2011). Finally, the later addition of the attachment pattern insecure-disorganized explains children who demonstrate a mixture of attachment behaviors. This child often responds to their caregiver with opposing actions, such as approach-avoidance, and displays a degree of fear associated with that caregiver; it is theorized that there is a direct correlation between abused children and this particular

In the earliest stages of development, emotions are diffuse and infants have little control over their behavioral expression, relying instead on the dyadic regulation provided by their caregivers’ responses to behavioral signals. Attachment disorders form in infancy and early childhood as a result of instability in the child-caregiver relationship. Attachment-disordered children typically have experienced abusive or neglectful care, multiple changes between caregivers and environments, or the sudden loss of a parent or parents.

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) 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.

One of the most important factors that affect child development is the relationship of the child with their primary caregiver. This is a tenet of developmental psychology known as attachment theory. John Bowlby, the creator of this theory, wanted to examine how early childhood experiences influence personality development. Attachment theory specifically examines infant’s reactions to being separated from their primary caregiver. Bowlby hypothesized that the differences in how children react to these situations demonstrates basic behavioral differences in infancy that will have consequences for later social and emotional development.

Attachment disorder is the result of a bonding process that occurs between a child and caregiver during the first couple years of the child’s life. From the view of Mary Ainsworth, Harry Harlow, John Bowlby and Rene Spitz attachment disorder does severe damage depending on the child and the abuse level. This attachment break severely damages the heart and mind. It stops the child’s ability to care, love or trust. When a child

However, the friendly responses to other people decrease and the infant treats strangers with increasing caution, (stranger anxiety). Schaffer and Emerson (1964) responded to some of Bowlby's earlier research by conducting a longitudinal study of sixty infants who came from working-class homes in Glasgow. The infants were observed over a period of one year in their home. This study has high ecological validity as the surroundings the mother and infant were in were true to life. Most infants showed separation protest at seven months, which indicated a specific attachment to one person.

Reactive attachment disorder is a disorder that impairs a child’s social skills before the age of five. (Shi, 2014) Children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder have a hard time getting close to others. They are ones who are neglected, abused or constantly changing caregivers. It is hard for these children to get close to others when all they know is negative things about personal relationships. If a child is raised not knowing how to trust or be close to anyone, they will have issues with relationships.

Treatment strategies are not as well established for disorganized attachment as they are with other attachments. However, there is a critical need to develop these strategies as this particular population struggles immensely with issues such as self-regulation, the development and maintenance of relationships, as well as many other conditions that affect their daily lives. An important and critical time for treatment is during early childhood, as the longer a person struggles with disorganized attachment, the more difficult it is to treat and correct that attachment. There are a number of different treatments that may be utilized, and researchers are in the process of determining their effectiveness. There have been some case studies that have discussed the potential for individual therapies that have a focus on both emotional regulation and the growth of relational abilities through non-directive play according to Zilberstein (2010, p.89) Other studies have instead choose to focus on the changes that are elicited through the basic parent-child

Reactive attachment disorder manifests before the age of five and affects how a child is able to attach to their guardians, teachers, friends, authority figures, and any other person in their lives. There are two recognized types of reactive attachment disorder. The inhibited type and the disinhibited type (Rhodes, 2016). The inhibited type is “emotionally withdrawn” (Roberds & Davis, 2011). They do not initiate social relations or respond developmentally appropriately. The disinhibited type could also be called “indiscriminate” (Roberds & Davis, 2011). They will look for comfort or interaction from strangers or caregivers indiscriminately. They can also be “described as shallow and attention seeking” (Roberds & Davis, 2011). Some of the symptoms of reactive attachment disorder, or RAD, could stem from other disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. “Children with RAD may lack empathy, may intentionally harm themselves or others, and may be hypervigilant. Children with RAD have also been observed to exhibit impulsive and self-endangering behaviors. They may generally struggle with emotional and behavioral regulation. Children diagnosed with RAD may have related issues stemming from abuse and neglect that are not part of RAD that also need professional attention. These include unattended medical conditions, as well as trouble with speech or language” (Roberds & Davis, 2011). Some sources also include trouble understanding cause and effect as well as a problem with

One of the key elements of RAD therapy is incorporating a parenting skills class into the child’s counseling. The skills class should accomplish at least three goals. The first goal should be to “educate” the parents about their child’s disorder, the second goal should be to educate the parents to “protect” themselves from the child’s “pathology”, the third goal should be to establish a “bond” with the child through activities rather than therapy (Buenning, n.d.). By educating the parents about why their child is behaving the way they are, the parents are able to relate to their child. This assists the child in therapy because, “understanding your child often leads to increased feelings of compassion for him” (Buenning,

In order to determine an infant’s attachment type, Ainsworth established an experimental study known as, “Strange Situation” (Berger, 2014, p.144). This study was an experiment off of Bowlby’s findings that suggest attachment “related behaviors, are activated in times of personal distress” (Bernier, Larose, & Whipple, 2005, p. 172). Therefore, within this study, an infant’s attachment was determined by studying their behavior and level of distress within a new environment at the absence or presence of their caregiver. Additionally, Bernier represents the results of Larose and Boivin’s 1998 study that express a possible correlation between “Strange Situation” and the transition from high school to college (Bernier et al., 2005, p. 173) as both

Securely attached infants have a good quality of relationship with their parents. In the strange situation, where parents leave their child alone or with a stranger in a room full of toys, these children are upset when their parents leave, but easily comforted when they return. The child uses the parent as a “secure base” from which to explore the environment. In the strange situation, insecure/resistant infants

An individual’s attachment style is conceived as a personality trait which is stable across the individual’s life span. Attachment is seen as a categorical model where individuals are either securely, avoidant or anxiously attached to others. Several studies have indicated how individuals treat attachment-related thoughts is related to their attachment style and governs how they cope with and express the loss of a loved one. When compared with secure and anxious attached adults, avoidant attachment style adults are less concerned with attachment to others. Anxious attachment style adults are worried about loss and will be hyper vigilant to relationship distress.

In the first few months of life, the sole purpose of any child’s behaviour is to survive. This, more often than not, results in actions that reduce the risk of harm and increase the chances of longevity. Of these behaviours, some argue that the most influential is attachment behaviour. “Attachment behaviour is any form of behaviour that results in a person attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual who is conceived as better able to cope with the world”(Bowlby, 1982). Therefore, children will make an effort to stay close to and under the protection of their primary caregiver. According to Webster, “through interactions with their primary caregiver, the child develops expectations and understandings about the workings of relationships. These mental representations of relationships become internalized to the degree that they influence feelings, thought and behaviour automatically and unconsciously” (1999, p.6). Moreover, the response of the identified individual plays a huge role in the child’s perception of the outside world. If the caregiver responds to the child’s needs in a caring and protective manner, the child will feel safe and comfortable in his or her surroundings. If, on the other hand, the caregiver is often emotionally and/or physically unavailable, the child is likely to