Reactive Attachment

The representations of attachment disorder in children include such thoughts as: “I am bad and unlovable,” “my caregiver will not protect me from traumatic experiences,” and I am not able to get my caregiver to “respond consistently to my needs”. These children view their caregivers as unreliable, unresponsive, rejecting, and threatening. They should be responded to with empathy and calm as a means to reduce their arousal, as opposed to anger and discipline which can heighten the adverse physiological and behavioral outcomes the child is experiencing.

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 In cases of RAD two major types of abnormalities have been cited; these include an emotionally withdrawn/inhibited type and an indiscriminately social/disinhibited pattern (First, M., & Tasman, A. 2010).Conditions in in foreign orphanages and institutions such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

Ainsworth (1978) developed the Strange Situation Theory, which is how one is able to view the different levels of attachment (Groh, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, Flaley, Owen, Cox, & Burchinal, 2014). The first attachment is secure attachment, which is when a child is able to greet and seek out contact with the caregiver upon arrival after a stressful separation (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The next is anxious-avoidant/resistant (insecure) attachment, when the child has no want to contact with the caregiver while showing signs of resistance upon the return (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The last and the most crucial to child development is disoriented/ disorganized attachment; conflicting responses from the child which show hostile and aggressive behavior toward the caregiver (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). All of these attachements show the different types of ways that a child can communicate with their caregiver. These actions are the representations of their early attachment and experiences with the caregiver (Siebert & Kerns, 2015). If there are no changes toward the environment, the attention

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

Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)

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 &

This paper is a review of how attachment disorders were first defined in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) in 1980, and how the descriptions have evolved over the past 30 years of research efforts which have provided new insights into the disorder. The main attachment disorder discussed is Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), that has recently been expanded to include a new diagnosis term called DSED – Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder. In order to provide effective therapeutic interventions to children who may suffer from RAD, the professionals they come in contact with on a regular basis must be provided the skills to recognize the common indicators of the disorder as early as possible in a child’s development. RAD, if left undiagnosed, can have devastating effects throughout the lifespan for the individuals who suffer from it.

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

Although secure attachment during infancy is the foundation for continued healthy positive development during the lifespan, it is important to understand that other factors can have a significant effect on development later in life (i.e. illness, loss, and trauma). However, research has shown the importance of consistent care giving that is responsive and nurturing and the caregivers’ ability to effectively accommodate more difficult temperament characteristics ,as well as other factors, influence the development of healthy attachment{{64 Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian 2003}}. Research has also shown that infancy and early childhood is the period of development where scaffolding begins and continues (Vygotsky, 1978; Zhao & Orey,1999).

The definition of attachment involves an affectional bond that infants need to form with a differentiated and preferred individual that becomes an attachment figure, consisting in a sustained nurturing relationship with the sensitive caregiver (Bowlbly, 1979). Attachment is conceptualized as an evolutionary feature: individuals can create a secure base around which one is able to explore and gain independence as well as a safe haven to which individuals can return and be reassured in a situation of distress or danger (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969). On the contrary, unresponsive or atypical ways of parenting can lead to aberrant behaviours or, if others risk factors are present, to psychopathology (Jacobsen, Edelstein, Hoffman, 1994; Schaffer, 1996). Secure attachment with the primary caregiver is necessary for social and emotional regulation as well as cognitive and resilience abilities(Bowlby, 1982; Ainsworth & Bell,1970); insecure attachment affects individuals’ life in many aspects, especially the ability to face distress (Macbeth et al., 2011), and not too rarely the aftermaths of an insane attachment can culminate in personality disorders (Crawford et al.,

Aside from shaping behavior, attachment also helps in the development of the brain and the organization (Bettmann & Jasperson, 2010). There have been many studies that indicate that early life experiences are connected with a person’s emotional and physical health (Cozolino, 2017). Research has found that disruptions in early caregiver-child attachments can affect a child’s neurobiology (Bettmann & Jasperson, 2010). Based on my client’s early childhood attachments I believe that the insecure/avoidant attachment may have affected the success of her neurological development, therefore leading to physiological and neurochemical arousal that manifested in depression and anxiety symptoms (Bettmann & Jasperson, 2010).

An infant with a secure attachment style has a natural bond with their parent, where they are able to trust them, at the same time leaving their side to discover and explore their surroundings. In an insecure/resistant attachment the relationship the child has with their mother or caregiver is very clingy, thus making them very upset once the caregiver is away. When the mother or caregiver is back they are not easily comforted and resist their effort in comforting them. In an insecure/avoidant attachment the infant is, “indifferent and seems to avoid the mother, they are as easily comforted by a stranger, as by their parent” (Siegler 2011, p.429). Lastly, the disorganized/disoriented attachment is another insecure attachment style in which the infant has no way of coping with stress making their behavior confusing or contradictory. Through these brief descriptions of the attachment theory, many researchers have defined the turning point in which each attachment definition can have an influence on one’s self esteem, well-being and their marital relationship.

The centre of the attachment theory is the parent and the child’s relationship. As the child realises who is caring for them they will rely on them to meet their needs. However, if their needs are not met their behaviour may change as an attempt to have their needs met. However, if their needs are not met their behaviour may change as an attempt to have them met. When a child sees their parent as controlling or disrespectful they will start to supress, their needs and feelings. A child may suffer from disorganised attachment because their carers movements are unpredictable due to drug or alcohol misuse. Poor attachment can affect the relationship they have

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