Common Symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder in Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Reactive attachment disorder, also known as RAD, is a condition that affects a child’s ability to bond with significant people in his or her life due to his or her emotional needs going unmet during infancy or serious abuse or neglect.

It is most likely to occur in children who live in orphanages or other institutional settings, have been in multiple foster care homes, or whose mother or primary caregiver has been physically or emotionally absent for extended periods.

As children with reactive attachment disorder get older, their symptoms fall into one of two subtypes – inhibited reactive attachment disorder or disinhibited reactive attachment disorder.

Children with inhibited reactive attachment disorder are often withdrawn, emotionally unresponsive, show no interest in what is going on around them, do not seek comfort from their caregivers, and prefer to keep to themselves.

On the other hand, children with disinhibited reactive attachment disorder may be overly friendly with strangers, lack the desire or need to stay close to their primary caregiver for safety, violate social boundaries, and seek affection from others in a potentially unsafe way.

Without treatment, the symptoms of children with reactive attachment disorder are likely to persist into adulthood and affect the way they function in society.

Common symptoms of reactive attachment disorder in children

• Avoiding eye contact.
• Failure to smile.
• Failure to coo or babble.
• Crying inconsolably.
• Not reaching arms out to be picked up.
• Not seeming to notice when you walk into the room.
• Not seeming to care when you leave him or her alone.
• Not seeking comfort or responding when comfort is given.
• Pushing away or leaning away from a person trying to be affectionate or offer comfort.
• Angry outbursts or tantrums.
• Reacting violently when held or cuddled.
• Withdrawing from social situations.
• Lack of interest in people around them.
• Lack of conscience.
• Inability to feel guilt, remorse, or regret.
• Uninterested in playing interactive games such as peek-a-boo.
• Failure to seek support or help when needed.
• Lack of interaction with peers.
• Engaging in self-soothing behaviors such as rocking back and forth.

Common symptoms of reactive attachment disorder in adolescents

• Appearing withdrawn and emotionally detached.
• Looking sad and lethargic.
• Lack of eye contact.
• Dislike being touched.
• Inability to form meaningful relationships.
• Lacking basic social skills.
• Defiant and argumentative.
• Anger issues.
• Difficult to discipline.
• Lack of self-control.
• Problems at school.
• Low self-esteem.
• Unpredictability.
• Lack of empathy.
• Irritability.
• Destructive behavior.
• Cruelty to animals.
• Engaging in risky behaviors.
• Failure to seek or respond to comfort when upset.
• Avoid interacting with peers.
• Manipulative behavior.
• Lying.
• Stealing.
• Lack of conscience, and an inability to feel guilt or remorse.
• Substance abuse.
• Preoccupation with blood, fire, and gore.

Common symptoms of reactive attachment disorder in adults

• Fear of being alone.
• Minimizing feelings of hurt or pain.
• Physically or emotionally distancing themselves from others.
• Feel as though they don’t fit in.
• Inability to show genuine care or affection.
• Reject love.
• Failure to seek support when they need it.
• Avoid making eye contact.
• Pushing people away.
• Absence of joy.
• Addictive and/or risky behaviors.
• Lack of conscience, and an inability to feel emotions such as regret, guilt, or remorse.
• Tendency to avoid serious relationships.
• Communication difficulties.
• Anger issues.

Treatment options

The focus of treatment is on strengthening the child emotionally, helping him or her create healthy bonds and relationships, and/or repairing existing negative relationships between him or her and caregivers. For adolescents and adults, there is an added focus on improving social and communication skills.

Common interventions include:

Psychotherapy

In psychotherapy, the counselor works with both the child and his or her parents to teach them how to build healthy emotional skills and reduce the problematic behaviors that prevent bonding from taking place.

Family therapy

In family therapy, the counselor works with the child and his or her family members to help them learn how to interact healthily.

Social skills intervention

Social skills intervention is focused on teaching the child how to interact appropriately with his or her peers.

Parenting skills classes

Parenting skills classes are geared toward teaching parents how to increase their responsiveness and sensitivity toward their child, meet his or her needs, and bond with him or her, as well as how to manage their child’s challenging behaviors and help him or her use the skills learned during therapy in the outside world more effectively.

If you have questions or would like to set up an appointment to meet with a counselor in Newport Beach, California, please give us a call at Newport Beach Christian Counseling. We can help you or your child address and overcome reactive attachment disorder.