This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Haugaard, J. J. Articles by Hazan, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Haugaard, J. J. Articles by Hazan, C. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Child Abuse Child Behavior Disorders Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Recognizing and Treating Uncommon Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents Who Have Been Severely Maltreated: Reactive Attachment Disorder

Cornell University

Cindy Hazan

Cornell University

This article explores reactive attachment disorder, a disorder that has been linked to severe and chronic maltreatment. The fundamental concepts of attachment theory are reviewed briefly, and the two types of behaviors associated with reactive attachment disorder in children and adolescents are discussed. Treatment strategies are explored, including the controversial holding or rebirthing strategies.

Key Words: child maltreatment • child psychopathology • reactive attachment disorder

References

• Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
• Alston, J. (2000). Correlation between childhood bipolar I disorder and reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited type. T. Levy (Ed.), Handbook of attachment interventions (pp. 193-242). San Diego, CA: Academic Press .
• American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
• American Psychiatric Association. (2002). Reactive attachment disorder: Position statement. Washington, DC: Author .
• Belsky, J., & Nezworski, T. (Eds.). (1988). Clinical implications of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
• Boris, N. W., & Zeanah, C. H. (1998). Clinical disturbances of attachment in infancy and early childhood . Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 10, 365-368 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Bowlby, J. (1951). Maternal care and mental health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization .
• Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Attachment (Vol. 1). New York: Basic Books .
• Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Separation: Anxiety and anger (Vol. 2.). New York: Basic Books .
• Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Loss: Sadness and depression (Vo. 3). New York: Basic Books .
• Campos, J. J., Barrett, K., Lamb, M. E., Goldsmith, H. H., & Stenberg, C. (1983). Socioemotional development. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Infancy and developmental psychobiology (Vol. 2, pp. 783-915). New York: John Wiley .
• Carlson, V., Cicchetti, D., Barnett, D., & Braunwald, K. (1989). Disorganized/disoriented attachment relationships in maltreated infants . Developmental Psychology, 25, 525-531 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. (Eds.). (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: Guilford .
• Crittenden, P. M. (1985). Maltreated infants: Vulnerability and resilience . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 85-96 .
• Crittenden, P. M. (1988). Relationships at risk. In J. Belsky & T. Nezworski (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment (pp. 136-174). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
• Crockenberg, S. B. (1981). Infant irritability, mother responsiveness, and social support influences on the security of infant-mother attachment . Child Development, 52, 857-869 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Egeland, B., & Farber, E. A. (1984). Infant-mother attachment: Factors related to its development and changes over time . Child Development, 55, 753-771 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Furman, W., Rahe, D., & Hartup, W. (1979). Rehabilitation of socially withdrawn preschool children through mixed age and same age socialization . Child Development, 50, 915-922 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Hanson, R. F., & Spratt, E. G. (2000). Reactive attachment disorder What we known about the disorder and implications for treatment . Child Maltreatment, 5, 137-145 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Hofer, M.A. (1987). Early social relationships: A psychobiologist’s view . Child Development, 58, 633-647 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Lieberman, A. F., & Pawl, J. H. (1988). Clinical applications of attachment theory. In J. Belsky & T. Nezworski (Eds.), Clinical implications of attachment (pp. 327-351). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
• Liotti, G. (1991). Patterns of attachments and the assessment of interpersonal schemata: Understanding and changing difficult patient/therapist relationships in cognitive psychotherapy . Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 5, 105-114 .
• Main, M. (1990). Parental aversion to infant-initiated contact is correlated with the parent’s own rejection during childhood: The effects of experience on signals of security with respect to attachment. In K. E. Barnard & T. B. Brazelton (Eds.), Touch: The foundation of experience (pp. 461-495). Madison, CT: International Universities Press .
• Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation . Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1-2), 66-104 .[Web of Science]
• Matas, L., Arend, R., & Sroufe, A. (1978). Continuity of adaptation in the second year: The relationship between quality of attachment and later competence . Child Development, 49, 547-556 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• O’Connor, T., Bredenkamp, D., Rutter, M., & English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study Team. (1999). Attachment disturbances and disorders in children exposed to early severe deprivation . Infant Mental Health Journal, 20(1), 10-29 .[CrossRef]
• O’Connor, T., & Rutter, M. (2000). Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: extension and longitudinal follow-up . Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 703-712 .[CrossRef]
• Richters, M. M., & Volkmar, F. R. (1994). Reactive attachment disorder of infancy or early childhood . Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 328-332 .
• Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorder . British Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 598-611 .[Free Full Text]
• Schneider-Rosen, K. & Cicchetti, D. (1984). The relationship between affect and cognition in maltreated infants: Quality of attachment and the development of visual self-recognition . Child Development, 55, 648-658 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Speltz, M. L. (1990). The treatment of preschool conduct problems: An integration of behavioral and attachment concepts. In M. Greenberg & D. Cicchetti (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 399-426). Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
• Sroufe, L. A. (1983). Infant-caregiver attachment and patterns of adaptation in preschool: The roots of maladaptation and competence. In M. Perlmutter (Ed.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (Vol. 16, pp. 41-83). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
• Sroufe, L. A., & Waters, E. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct . Child Development, 48, 1184-1199 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Van den Boom, D. (1990). Preventive intervention and the quality of mother-infant interaction and infant exploration in irritable infants. In W. Koops, H. J. G. Soppe, J. L. van der Linden, P. C. M. Molenaar, & J. J. F. Schroots (Eds.), Developmental psychology behind the dikes: An outline of developmental psychology research in the Netherlands. the Netherlands: Uitgeverij Eburon .
• Wilson, S.L. (2001). Attachment disorders: Review and current status . The Journal of Psychology, 135(1), 37-51 .[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

Child Maltreatment, Vol. 9, No. 2, 154-160 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1077559504264316


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. D. Buckner, C. Lopez, S. Dunkel, and T. E. Joiner Jr. Behavior Management Training for the Treatment of Reactive Attachment Disorder Child Maltreat, August 1, 2008; 13(3): 289 - 297. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Chaffin, R. Hanson, B. E. Saunders, T. Nichols, D. Barnett, C. Zeanah, L. Berliner, B. Egeland, E. Newman, T. Lyon, et al. Report of the APSAC Task Force on Attachment Therapy, Reactive Attachment Disorder, and Attachment Problems Child Maltreat, February 1, 2006; 11(1): 76 - 89. [Abstract] [PDF]

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Haugaard, J. J. Articles by Hazan, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Haugaard, J. J. Articles by Hazan, C. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Child Abuse Child Behavior Disorders Social Bookmarking                         What's this?