What is Reactive Attachment Disorder?

What is Reactive Attachment Disorder?

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a condition where a child has been subject to neglect or abuse, and they have a hard time or fail to establish the expected bond with their primary caregiver. A child with RAD can be diagnosed at the age of nine months to five-years-old. The child rarely seeks or responds to comfort when upset, shows a limited positive effect, and has unexplained episodes of irritability, sadness or fearfulness in contact with caregivers. (WebMD: Reactive Attachment Disorder, n.d.) RAD can also cause the child to have a hard time interacting with adults and peers.

RAD happens when a child has been unable to consistently connect with their parent or primary caregiver. If a young child repeatedly feels abandoned, isolated, powerless or uncared for, they will learn that they can not depend on others and will begin to believe that they always have to fend for themselves (Smith. M, Robinson. L, Saison J, Segal. J, 2018).

Many factors can contribute to RAD, such as;

•  A baby cries and no one responds or tries to comfort it,
•  A baby is hungry or wet and no one attends to them for hours,
•  No one looks, talks, or smiles to the baby so the baby ends up feeling alone,
• A young child or baby is mistreated or abused (Smith. M, Robinson. L, Saison J, Segal.J  2018). 

The child's needs are sometimes met and other times there are not, therefore, the child does not know what to expect (Smith. M, Robinson. L, Saison J, Segal. J, 2018). 

There are times where circumstances that cause attachment problems are unavoidable. However, a child is too young to understand that and will perceive it as no one caring for them. These feelings of neglect can cause the child to grow up having a hard time trusting others and thinking that the world is an unsafe place. 

( Healthy Place. Peterson, T, n.d).

Some signs of RAD in infants and toddlers include the child having a withdrawn appearance, failure to smile, and failure to react to caregivers trying to interact with them. For example, a child may not reach out for help when they are being picked on, or they also may not respond to a game of peekaboo. (Child Mind Institute, n.d). The child may seem unamused by the movements of others and they are uninterested in watching others as they move around the room. The child will try to nurture and soothe themselves instead of seeking comfort from the parent or caregiver, and when they are upset, they calm down more quickly without attention from the caregiver.