Reactive attachment disorder
| Reactive attachment disorder | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Psychiatry, Developmental psychology |
| Symptoms | Social withdrawal, lack of emotional responsiveness, failure to seek comfort from caregivers |
| Complications | Difficulty regulating emotions, behavioral problems, problems forming relationships later in life |
| Usual onset | Typically develops after 9 months of age and before 5 years old |
| Duration | Can persist without treatment |
| Causes | Severe early neglect, abuse, frequent changes of caregivers, institutional care |
| Diagnostic method | Based on clinical criteria from DSM-5-TR or ICD-11; must exclude other conditions like autism spectrum disorder |
| Differential diagnosis | Autism spectrum disorder, Intellectual disability, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Adjustment disorder |
| Treatment | Stable caregiving, attachment-focused therapy, caregiver education and support |
| Frequency | Rare; under 1% in general population, higher in children from foster care or institutional settings |
Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is a rare but serious condition that affects young children who have experienced severe disruptions in their early relationships with caregivers. It is a disorder of emotional attachment that results when a child is unable to form a healthy bond with their primary caregiver, usually due to neglect, abuse, or frequent changes in caregivers during the critical early years of life.[1][2]
- ^ American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM‑5‑TR). American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 9780890425799.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: checksum (help) - ^ Ellis, Elizabeth E. (2023). "Reactive Attachment Disorder". StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. PMID 29261999.