Summary Of In The Road To Evergreen By Rachael Stryker

Attachments and relationships are developed at a young age and any distressed or non-existent attachments can affect the child’s developing brain and their future relationships with caregivers and others. Though not true for all, many cases of RAD are attributed to children who grow up in institutions or have been adopted and/or placed in foster homes (APA, 2013).

The adoptive parents might realize that they aren’t ready to be parents and that leaves the child once again feeling rejected and unwanted. In a article it explains what they think the adoptive child should know, “Children need to know their adoption story. They need to learn that they were not in any way the cause or the reason for their parents ' relinquishing them. Some questions that teens wonder: Why did they give me away? Was there something wrong with me? Did they give me away because they did drugs or abused me? What does that say about me? Why couldn 't they work things out and taken care of me? Even with shows today like Teen Moms and Secret Life of the American Teenager, they are reminded that many young and struggling parents figure out a way to make it work to keep their baby, so why couldn 't their parents do the same as they see on TV? This may lead to further issues of feeling rejected and unlovable.” (The… 2). Adoption can also cause a feeling of loss that is unlike other losses like death, divorce, and any others. Dr. David M. Brodzinsky and Dr. Marshall D. Schechter said, “The loss for the adoptee is unlike other losses we have come to expect in a lifetime, such as death and divorce. Adoption is more pervasive, less socially recognized, and more profound." (Brodzinsky… 3).

Corbin (2007) describes reactive attachment disorder as a biopsychosocial disturbance of attachment. There is interconnectedness between the brain and body which helps explain the development of relationships. Reactive attachment disorder has been known to be caused by a primary caregiver’s lack of affection where, in turn, the infant or child experience neglect or abuse, difficulty coping, inability to function in families, at school or with peers (Taylor, 2002; Wimmer, Vonk, & Bordnick, 2009; Becker-Weidman, 2006 ). In a recent case study, a child diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder had a background of their biological parent being a cocaine and an alcohol addict, therefore, causing the child to exhibit symptoms such as demanding behavior, social isolation, lying, lack of cause and affect reasoning, and non-engaging and unaffectionate with adopted parents.

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.

Question #1: As noted in the reading, Marcovitch et al. (1997) found relatively low rates of secure attachment among children adopted from Romanian orphanages and their adoptive mothers. Specifically, they found that 30% of the adopted children were securely attached, compared to 42% of a comparison sample of biologically related (raised at home) mother−child pairs. [Full reference: Marcovitch, S. G., Gold, A., Washington, J., Wasson, C., Krekewich, K., & Handley-Derry, M. (1997). Determinants of behavioral problems in Romanian children adopted in Ontario. International Journal of

Take for example the lives of refugees from North Korea moving to the South. The refugees seeked a better home to live in since most women were forced to be prostitutes. Although they hoped their lives would be better in South Korea, they were completely wrong. After arriving in South Korea, they noticed that the only way to survive was to have some kind of kinship or network in such a capitalist and advanced society. An outsider status was anyone who didn’t fit the “social networks and social capital required for negotiating the competitive environment” (Markus Bell, 245). Though there are strict regulations on creating any kind of relationships such as marriage, employment, and socializing. This is only if one does not integrate oneself accordingly since the North Korean aspect is different. According to many anthropologists, the link to Korean kinship is well connected to even South Africa's and the Chinese. The Korean kinship is known to be based on “local lineage” or close relationships-even ones that are not biological. There is another kind of relationship where it is not necessarily intimate, but still considered as some kind of kinship: pseudo-kinship. In a pseudo-kinship, the relationship is a “lasting emotional significance” (Bell, 246). These are in enhanced especially in areas where the environment is extremely hostile and and radical. To many people, kinships are supposed to

When looking at adoption there is a large variety of studies that can be done with adoptive children and their development. How does the child attach to his or her adoptive parents? How does the child view themselves in regards to a family unit when siblings are involved? How do the parents view the child’s placement in the family after a certain period of time has passed? All of these variables can be observed in study after study. But for sake of this paper, we are going to take a look at what researchers found in Romanian orphanages and how these children connected and attached with their adoptive mothers and parents. We will also look at a study

Foster care has a major impact on children and adolescents. There are several areas of a child’s life that is affected by being placed in foster care. When children and adolescent enter into foster care due to abuse or neglect their world can change for better or for worse. A child’s experience before entering foster care predetermines their behavior(s) that will occur while in foster care. Often time’s children have to deal with these life changing events due to a mistake that their parent/guardian made or a lifestyle that their parent/guardian has chosen. In particular, several foster children and adolescent have attachment issues upon entering care (Kelly & Simon, 2014). This topic is concerning because it can help identify the issues that occur when children and adolescents enter into care and help front line service workers assist their families in a more appropriate manner in order to decrease the issues that are due to attachment. The outcome for every child is different, but understanding that attachment disorders is the problem and possible ways to deal with it can assist in making a positive social change in the foster care world.

A fifth source that will convey the psychological effects that open adoption has on the adopted child is the book, Psychological issues in adoption written by David M. Brodzinsky and Jesus Palacious. This source will give the reader insight on the effects than an open adoption has on the child that was adopted. This source will allow the reader to see real testimonies of children that were adopted through an open adoption, and will also allow the reader to better understand open adoption from the child’s point of

Bartholemew and Horowitz (1991) described a model of attachment in which the child’s image of the self and others are the most important roles. The four categories in this model are secure attachment in which the child has a sense of worthiness and that others are accepting (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Preoccupied attachment describes a feeling of unworthiness but with positive feelings towards others, fearful attachment combines unworthiness with a negative feeling towards others (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Dismissing attachment describes a feeling of worthiness with negative feeling towards others (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Pignotti (2011) explored the effects that early institutional care has on kids that are later adopted and their risk of RAD. Kemph & Voeller (2007) describe how RAD is seen to occur because of poor nurturing from the mother as well as several other prenatal factors. Minnis, Green, O’Conner, Liew, Glaser, Taylor, & Sadiq (2009) compare RAD with insecure attachment patterns and find that RAD is not the same as attachment insecurity, especially because it occurs early on. Other studies have tried to go further and study RAD and possible biological mechanisms that cause it. Kočovská, Wilson, Young, Wallace, Gorski, Follan, & Minnis (2013) studied the effects of reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and cortisol

attachment parent in times of distress (Main, & Cassidy, 1988). The avoidant type of infant resist

“When children enter foster care, the initial plan is for children to return to live with their families once they have adequately resolved the problems that made their children unsafe and made foster care necessary.” “While a little more than half of children who enter care return home to their birth families, the rest will need other plans to end the temporary placement of foster care.” (childrensaidsociety.org) Even with foster care some children hope to find a permanent family to live with but according to research, today adoption is viewed as a last resort, even for couples with fertility problems. (Reed, Leslie,) Today people have fears of bonding with the child, unknown health issues and behavioral issues. (Patricelli, Kathryn). In the future adoption will revolve around securing information with international adoption, getting more access to original birth certificates and other legal

Although the study is thorough in describing findings among those who are adopted from institutions, specifically orphanages, the study falls short of describing attachment patterns with children who are adopted at birth and had no experience with institutions. Therefore, I do not believe that the study conducted by Marcovitch et al. (1997) describes attachment among all adopted children, but it does describe how children who spend a considerable amount of of their first year of life in orphanages are more likely to have issues later in life since attachment theorist believe that attachment or lack thereof can affect cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). In fact, the outcomes of children who spend a majority of their early years in an institutional setting can be attributed to the “lack of an attachment figure” (Marcovitch et al., 1997, pp. 19).

As of 2006, approximately 1.5% of urban infants in the US were in foster care (Cole, 2006). This is a system and a lifestyle that will likely affect the rest of their lives via developmental and relational problems, for the most part against their will. John Bowlby, one of the main scientists behind Attachment Theory once wrote about forming a secure attachment “the infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment” (1951, p. 13). This is a challenging feat for foster children, who don’t necessarily have a permanent mother substitute. While I expected the literature to describe foster kids to typically have some degree of Reactive Attachment Disorder, it turns out that this is fairly rare, occurring in less than ten percent of children who were severely neglected as children (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The literature more often refers to insecure and avoidant attachment as the main attachment style among foster and institutionalized children. Individuals with avoidant attachment styles have learned through interaction with caregivers that any support-seeking or emotional expression will be met with rejection, and therefore avoid doing so. The following will detail and at points expand on or critique articles supporting the notion that foster children often have avoidant attachment styles, and that this is often problematic.

Bayless, Kate. "Reactive Attachment Disorder and Adoption." Parents. Parents, 11 June 2015. Web. 14 Feb. 2017. " when a child is angry she will not seek comfort from caregiver and may respond negatively to warm that is given