Introduction to a special issue on the assessment of children with reactive attachment disorder and the treatment of children with attachment difficulties or a history of maltreatment and/or foster care.

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Jeannie A. Golden
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Reactive Attachment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Attachment Difficulties

Reactive Attachment Disorder in Adopted and Foster Care Children

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Stinehart ◽  
David A. Scott ◽  
Hannah G. Barfield
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Disorganized Attachment ◽  
Initial Attachment ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Reactive Attachment

A disruption in the initial attachment formed between an infant and a primary caregiver often leads to some type of disordered or disorganized attachment. While research has been conducted on the etiology, symptoms, and effective forms of therapy regarding this disorder, much definitive information remains unknown or unclear. With the increasing use of foster care in America and the frequency of adoption, it is becoming obvious that more attention is needed in the area of how to best appropriately approach a diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder. This article will discuss current trends and implications for mental health professionals working in the field of foster care and adoption settings.

scholarly journals Possibilities for Home and School Partnering Interactions Among Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Attachment Issues

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-94
Author(s):  
Candace Schlein ◽  
Raol J. Taft
Keyword(s):  
Challenging Behaviors ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Disorder ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Emotional Behavioral Disorder ◽  
Reactive Attachment ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Students With Ebd

Background: Students with Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) and those with attachment issues, such as Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), present school professionals with some of the most challenging behaviors experienced in schools. Family participation can be critical for promoting positive outcomes for children with behavioral concerns. Positive school and family partnering interactions can positively impact students behaviorally, academically, and socially. Objective: This article aims to provide an introductory framing for this special issue regarding school and family partnering interactions among students with EBD, including those with attachment issues, such as RAD. Method: Qualitative research was employed to consider this topic across included special issue articles. Conclusion: A variety of studies showcase ways of effectively attending to the experiences of students with EBD and RAD and their families. There is further much that might be gained by making use of an interdisciplinary lens for approaching this issue, such as from the perspective of education, psychotherapy, educational psychology, and family studies. This multi-perspectival approach might contribute to the life quality and success of youth with EBD and RAD and their families.

scholarly journals Reactive Attachment Disorder in maltreated young children in foster care

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Bruce ◽  
David Young ◽  
Susan Turnbull ◽  
Maki Rooksby ◽  
Guy Chadwick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Reactive Attachment

scholarly journals Signs of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder at age 12 years: Effects of institutional care history and high-quality foster care

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 675-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Humphreys ◽  
Charles A. Nelson ◽  
Nathan A. Fox ◽  
Charles H. Zeanah
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Attachment Disorders ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder ◽  
Reactive Attachment

AbstractTwo disorders of attachment have been consistently identified in some young children following severe deprivation in early life: reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder. However, less is known about whether signs of these disorders persist into adolescence. We examined signs of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder at age 12 years in 111 children who were abandoned at or shortly after birth and subsequently randomized to care as usual or to high-quality foster care, as well as in 50 comparison children who were never institutionalized. Consistent with expectations, those who experienced institutional care in early life had more signs of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder at age 12 years than children never institutionalized. In addition, using a conservative intent-to-treat approach, those children randomized to foster care had significantly fewer signs of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder than those randomized to care as usual. Analyses within the ever institutionalized group revealed no effects of the age of placement into foster care, but number of caregiving disruptions experienced and the percentage of the child's life spent in institutional care were significant predictors of signs of attachment disorders assessed in early adolescence. These findings indicate that adverse caregiving environments in early life have enduring effects on signs of attachment disorders, and provide further evidence that high-quality caregiving interventions are associated with reductions in both reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder.

In-Home Treatment of Reactive Attachment Disorder in a Therapeutic Foster Care System: A Case Example

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Sheperis ◽  
Edina L. Renfro-Michel ◽  
R. Anthony Doggett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
System A ◽  
Chronic Trauma ◽  
Reactive Attachment ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Care System

When trauma precedes a child's placement in the foster care system, it can lead to lasting mental health difficulties. Often, children who experience extreme, chronic trauma prior to age 5 develop Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). However, the diagnosis of RAD is often overlooked. This article discusses the characteristics of RAD as well as diagnostic criteria and possible etiology. We present the case example of an adolescent diagnosed with RAD as an example of treatment from an in-home perspective.

Assessment of Attachment in Infancy and Early Childhood

2019 ◽  
pp. 266-286
Author(s):  
Neil W. Boris ◽  
Tessa Chesher ◽  
Valerie A. Wajda-Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
Comprehensive Assessment ◽  
Attachment Disorder ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Reactive Attachment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Infancy And Early Childhood

Attachment is a fundamental developmental domain in infancy and early childhood and no clinical assessment is complete without a comprehensive assessment of the young child’s key attachment relationships. This chapter uses the Circle of Security, a graphic representation of the hundreds of daily dyadic interactions that form the basis of attachment in early childhood, to help frame attachment theory. The importance of recognizing child and parent factors that might lead to disorganization of attachment in infancy and early childhood is emphasized and the history of research on forms of reactive attachment disorder is presented in the context of differential diagnosis. Key principles for attachment assessment are then reviewed and the tools that comprise comprehensive assessment of attachment in early childhood are presented, with an emphasis on tools used for assessment of parent–child interaction and those used to gather data on the parental state of mind regarding attachment. The chapter concludes with a case example that includes a discussion of treatment planning.

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