The abandoned child: reactive disorganized attachment

When you grow up in a context of insufficient care or neglect, the most common thing is to respond with poorly adaptive social behaviors. within the framework of general society. Reactive disorganized attachment or reactive attachment disorder (RAD) develops due to these developmental conditions.

Attachment is the main component of social and emotional development in early childhood. It refers to the bond that the baby establishes with its parents or primary caregivers. This bond will constitute a powerful reference for the rest of the relationships that the child establishes in childhood and in many cases it will also be a powerful reference for those that she establishes beyond the borders of this vital stage.

Attachment theory offers us a new look at the process of human development. Thus, we ask and answer some questions that can help us better understand its significance: What is the attachment bond and what is it for human beings? What are the pathological effects if the attachment bond is not properly organized?

What is reactive disorganized attachment or reactive attachment disorder (RAD)?

The essence of reactive disorganized attachment or reactive attachment disorder (RAD) lies in childhood, when young children grow up with limited opportunities for selective attachment, finally they appear withdrawn and inhibited, and do not bond with any person. Social abandonment, frequent changes in caregivers, or deprivation (e.g., in institutional settings) are some of the risk conditions that give rise to reactive disorganized attachment or reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

These children appear cold, and rarely seek proximity to specific adults, even in case of emotional need. They may also appear irritable without any explanation, or sad or fearful of contact or proximity to their caregivers/family members.

Attachment and its impact on child development

Within the field of childhood, one of the most interesting theorizations currently is attachment theory, which allows us to better understand the complexity of the process by which we survive and integrate into society. From ethology and psychoanalysis we know that When a human baby is born, it needs adults willing to cover its vital needs (affection, care, food, hygiene, movement…).

What differentiates us from other species is that we innately We learn by imitation, so this process implies relationship and learning, also called humanization. In other words, we call attachment bond the need of human beings to create bonds of coexistence and love, establishing strong, selective and lasting bonds with their caregivers.

What effects does parental incompetence have?

When attachment figures are not in tune with the infant, we speak of parental incompetence. The presence of severe parental incompetence in an adult can manifest itself in one or more of the following traits:

Difficulty showing yourself available (psychically and/or physically), to establish emotional relationships, tune in or understand the needs of their children. The relationships or care they offer are chaotic, unstable, changing.They don’t know how to calm the child nor give him affection, respond to his communication demands… They cannot recognize, identify, regulate, favor the development of the capacity for symbolization or adaptation to the social reality of the infant. They usually offer incoherent and contradictory answers. For example, words not matching facts, gestures, events…Negligent actions (absence of basic care, mental and physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological manipulation). It is usually reactive to serious mental illness (depression, drug addiction, social difficulties, serious and disabling life events…).

As a consequence of development under the “umbrella” of incompetent parenting abilities, an inadequate attachment bond is created. Although the consequences will depend on variables among which we can include:

The child’s age at the time of the disorganization of the link.The existence of a substitute for the link already known and stable if a separation or breakup occurs. Adaptation to the substitute depends on the quality of the bonding relationships before the breakup episode and how this bond has been maintained.The psychic moment in which it occurs, since the critical moments are the first year of life, 3-4 years, and adolescence. The ability to resilience (subjective repair of each subject).The reason of the breakdown of attachment (history and life events).The duration of the situation of rupture or disorganization.

It is understandable that people who grow up under these conditions present abrupt, unpredictable or impulsive behaviors, since they feel relationships with great insecurity, unreliability, anxiety, and distrust. In some cases, pathologies are generated, such as reactive attachment disorder (RAD), also known as reactive disorganized attachment, in the face of great incoherence and paradox: “The person on whom I depend destroys my own being.”

Bibliographic references

Zeanah, C.H., Chesher, T., & Boris, N.W. (2016). Practical measures for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (CDSD). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 55(11), 990-1003.

Comín, MA (2014). The attachment bond and its consequences for the human psyche. Logos, 1-15.