Reactive attachment disorder can negatively affect all areas of a child or adolescent’s life and development. There are two main types of reactive attachment disorder: inhibited and disinhibited. Not much research has been done on the signs and symptoms of this disorder beyond early childhood, however as children grow older they may develop either inhibited or disinhibited behavior patterns. In some cases an adolescent will display symptoms of both types. Some common signs and symptoms may include:

Inhibited type:

• Detached
• Unresponsive or resistant to comforting
• Withdrawn
• Avoidant
• Shuns relationships with everyone

Disinhibited type:

• Indiscriminate sociability
• Inappropriately familiar or selective in choice in attachment figures
• Seeks attention from anyone
• Displays inappropriate childish behavior
• Frequently asks for help doing things
• Violates social boundaries

Additional symptoms:

Relationships: In relationships, a person who has RAD may be bossy, untrusting, manipulative, and controlling. They may have challenges giving or receiving genuine love and affection. Their unstable peer relationships are tenuous at best, as children and teens with RAD blame others for their mistakes or challenges.

Behavioral: Destructive, irresponsible, impulsive, and defiant behaviors. Children or teens with RAD may steal, lie, abuse others, start fires, behave cruelly to animals, or act in a self-destructive manner. They also may avoid physical contact with others, and engage in drug or alcohol abuse.

Moral:  Teens with RAD may lack faith, compassion, and remorse for their actions.

Emotional: Children who have RAD may feel sad, moody, fearful, anxious, depressed, and hopeless. These children may display inappropriate emotional reactions.

Thoughts: Children and teens who have RAD may have negative beliefs about themselves, life, and other relationships. These children and teens are unable to understand the concept of cause and effect. Additionally, they may experience inattention and challenges with learning.

Your attachment style involves your behaviors and interactions with others and how you form relationships with them. Attachment theory holds that these styles are largely determined during early childhood.

Secure vs. insecure

Attachment styles are broadly categorized as being either secure of insecure.

If your needs as a child were usually met right away by your caregiver, you probably developed a secure attachment style. As an adult, you most likely feel secure in your close relationships and trust that the other person will be there when you need them.

If your caregiver failed to meet your needs as a child — or was slow to do so — you may have an insecure attachment style. As an adult, you might find it hard to form intimate bonds with others. You may also have a hard time trusting those close to you.

There are several subtypes of insecure attachment styles in adults.

Anxious-preoccupied attachment

If you have an anxious-preoccupied attachment style, you might:

• have an increased need to feel wanted
• spend a lot of time thinking about your relationships
• have a tendency to experience jealousy or idolize romantic partners
• require frequent reassurance from those close to you that they care about you

If you’re need for reassurance isn’t met, you might start doubting how your loved ones feel about you. If you’re in a romantic relationship, you might frequently believe that your partner is upset with you and wants to leave.

These fears can make you more sensitive to the behaviors of those close to you. You might interpret some of their actions as proof that what you’ve worried about (them leaving) is actually happening.

Dismissive-avoidant attachment

If your attachment style is dismissive-avoidant, you might:

• have a hard time depending on partners or other people close to you
• prefer to be on your own
• feel like close relationships aren’t worth the trouble
• worry that forming close bonds with others will make you less independent

These behaviors can make it hard for others to support you or feel close to you. Moreover, if someone does put in extra effort to draw you out of your shell, you may react by closing yourself off.

Keep in mind that these behaviors don’t stem from not caring about others. Instead, it’s more about protecting yourself and maintaining a sense of self-sufficiency.

Fearful-avoidant attachment

If you have a fearful-avoidant attachment style, you might:

• have conflicting feelings about relationships and intimacy
• want to develop romantic relationships but worry that your partner will hurt you, leave you, or both
• push aside your feelings and emotions to try to avoid experiencing them
• fear you aren’t good enough for the kind of relationship you’d like to have

While you might be able to suppress your emotions for a period of time, they tend to come out in bursts. This can feel overwhelming and create a pattern of highs and lows in your relationships with others.

Treatment for attachment disorder focuses on repairing and/or creating emotionally healthy family bonds. It aims to strengthen relationships between children and their caretakers in a way that can later help the child to develop other healthy relationships

Both children and parents benefit from tailored treatment plans. Treatment may incorporate:

• Psychotherapy/Counseling. A mental health provider works with the child and parents in a variety of ways, sometimes one-on-one with the child, sometimes with just caretakers, and sometimes in combination, to build skills and reduce problematic patterns of behavior.
• Family therapy. This therapy involves working together with the primary caretakers and child to develop ways to interact in healthy ways.
• Social Skills Intervention. This therapy teaches the child how to interact more appropriately with other similar–aged children in typical social settings. Parents are usually also involved to help the child to use the skills they learn.
• Special education. If a child qualifies, these are school-based programs that help children learn skills to succeed both academically and socially.
• Parenting skills classes. In these sessions parents may learn more effective ways of managing their child’s challenges. This can be particularly beneficial as managing discipline for children with attachment disorder can be more difficult.

1. Peterson, T. (2016, February 5). Reactive Attachment Disorder in Adults, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2019, August 4 from https://www.healthyplace.com/ptsd-and-stress-disorders/reactive-attachment-disorder/reactive-attachment-disorder-in-adults