Minority Population Relevancy

Minority status has long since been viewed in a not-so-positive light. From the reflex many people have to lock their doors when they see a homeless person or a person of color, to stereotyping and assumptions based on institutionalized racism, to discrimination, minority status has a part to play in all of it. Similarly, many people have the idea that deaf people cannot do anything for themselves because they are “disabled”. Even though America was once hailed as a melting pot because of the diversity of its citizens, things like “you’re in America now, speak English” are said in today's America. While being defined as a minority isn’t inherently bad, it has become an excuse for some members of the majority to treat minorities as second-class citizens.

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 In cases of RAD two major types of abnormalities have been cited; these include an emotionally withdrawn/inhibited type and an indiscriminately social/disinhibited pattern (First, M., & Tasman, A. 2010).Conditions in in foreign orphanages and institutions such as,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.

In The Road to Evergreen by Rachael Stryker is an interesting eye catching ethnography that emphasizes on the psychiatric disorder on adopted children called RAD, also known as reactive attachment disorder. Reactive attachment disorder “Describes children who are considered to be unable or unwilling to bond with parental (most often mother) figures” (Stryker 3). The reason why these particular children are unable to form a bond with their primary family is because in their past relationships formed with their birth parents, if any, have been either neglected or abused in both a physical and or mental way. So, in the end, the child is left with RAD and their new adopted families are the ones who have to get help for them in hope for a noticeable

“Asian Americans are the highest-income, best educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are more satisfied than the general public with their lives, finances and the direction of the country, and they place more value than other Americans do on marriage, parenthood, hard work and career success, according to a comprehensive new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center.”

There is data collected from the Richmond Police Department throughout this article proving Blacks and minorities to be ticketed more often than Whites. “Overall, female officers stopped 104 minority drivers and 71 Whites drivers, yielding a minority-to-White stop ratio of 1:46:1. In contrast, the minority-to-White stop ratio among male officers was significantly higher at 2:17:1 (1,710 minority drivers stopped vs. 788 Whites)” (Petrocelli, Smith 14). There are many tables throughout the article showing the difference between White and minority stops. One thing that was interesting on Table 4 of page 16, was that the consent for a car search was much greater among minorities, at 70 people, compared to Whites, at 42 people, and that the incident

I have chosen the issue of “miss/underrepresentation of minorities in American television and film.” As America has changed over the years to become much more accepting and inclusive, American media seems to be a bit behind. There are countless instances in which characters from a book or graphic novel has been white-washed once they make it to the big screen. Some may argue these choices are made because the actor is very strong at their craft or they are a star and will bring in the big bucks in theaters. While this may be true, it completely discredits not only the original art and meaning of the work but also the community of talented non-white artist in America. I want to delve deep into the reason this can be happening in a generally

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 &

What are the consequences when children are not given the love, a sense of safety, and care they need? While some of the behaviors of Reactive Attachment Disorder has been noted as far back as the mid-20th century (Fox and Zeanah 32), and was not even introduced as a disorder until 1980 in the 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Gleason and Zeanah 207). Children have been exhibiting the symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder long before scientist started documenting it. During the early years, not much was known about Reactive Attachment Disorder, although scientist have learned much about this disorder since. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that only adopted children have this disorder. The thought is that children taken from their parental units by state officials or from orphanages, mostly from overseas, at a young age and placed into new homes caused this problem, but this has since been found to be untrue. Children that do not receive the nurturing love, the feeling of safety, and are abused in many different ways will have this disorder. The life of a child diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder can be extremely difficult due to the characteristic angry outbursts, the habitual telling of untruths, and recurrent stealing which can cause the people around them have a difficult time making a connection with them.

A child’s ability to function and comply with society’s rules and regulations rely on a healthy early childhood attachment. Attachment is the biological instinct for infant to seek closeness to their caregiver. A secure attachment develops through consistent and positive, interactions between the caregiver and the child. A child’s physical development, mental development, social development, and ability to form daily living skills, all begin to develop through that secure development but continues to develop through continued nurture throughout that child’s life. Children who fail to receive a secure attachment will most likely struggle with self-regulation making it hard to control behaviors and impulses.

Minorities in America use a language that is not their own and over time they forget their own native language. This description fits me well, since I arrived in New York at the age of two and I have always viewed myself as an American. I thought that communicating in English was cool and my native language Tamil sounded backwards. Coming from a family that knew how to speak English fluently, I found myself speaking English rather than Tamil. One day my parents forced me to join a Saturday school where they taught Tamil. I cried and I wailed, but nothing worked out, I was pushed into attending the class, I had no choice but to go. When I got there, I was extremely upset and regretted being there. However, I was astonished to witness little

Reactive attachment disorder, also known as RAD, is characteristic of children who have developmentally inappropriate attachment behaviors. As mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (2013), “The essential feature (of reactive attachment disorder) is absent or grossly underdeveloped attachment between the child and putative caregiving adults” (p. 266). This underdeveloped attachment is in response to a child being neglected or deprived of emotional and social comfort (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In the following section, the diagnostic criteria for reactive attachment disorder will be discussed.

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.

Lehmann and Coady (2001) state that attachment theory adheres to the notion that mental health issues come from detrimental early childhood caregiver relationships. Lehmann and Coady (2001) further state that this can include a breakdown in relationships that fail to give a child emotional security, comfort and protection. Lehmann and Coady (2001) reiterate that this can also include bad reactions with caretakers that are inconsistent, unreliable, insensitive and abusive. This theory is critical in a rural social work setting as it pertains to trauma.

A study conducted by Termini et al (2009) asserted that in order for a child to develop into a successful adult, they need a positive experience and the encouraging influence of a parental figure. The interactions between parent and child are learning experiences that will be imprinted on them across a lifetime. When unhealthy and abusive bonds are formed, the children will grow into adults with anti-social behaviors. These bonds can be established as early as infancy in many cases. Although the age range utilized for this experiment were 5 to 19 years of age, due to the importance of understanding various attachment styles across a lifetime, it is critical to further understand this course of research. Furthermore, previous research has established a pattern of personality traits often demonstrated by victims of child abuse. The research conducted by Termini et al (2009) primary focus is on individuals who were diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder. Individuals diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder typically have a history of being