Reactive Attachment Disorder

A disorder seen in children before they reach the age of five that is characterized by markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness in most contexts that is associated with grossly pathological care, e.g., persistent disregard for the child's basic emotional needs for comfort, stimulation and affection; persistent disregard for the child's physical needs; and/or repeated changes of primary caregivers that prevent formation of stable attachments. The disorder may take two forms: disturbances in social relationships that are characterized by the persistent failure to initiate and respond to most social interactions in a developmentally appropriate way (inhibited type); and disturbances in social relationships that are marked by indiscriminate sociability or a lack of selectivity in the choice of attachment figures (disinhibited type).