[Abdulina]

What is RAD?

Reactive Attachment Disorder is a psychiatric disorder that begins before age 5 in which a child who has experienced extremely poor care or abuse exhibits very disturbed and inappropriate social relatedness for his or her age. For example, the child may exhibit contradictory or disorganized responses to caregivers such as alternately approaching, avoiding, or resisting the caregiver's efforts to comfort or care for the child. Or, the child may not adequately distinguish between his or her primary caregiver and strangers, exhibiting excessive familiarity with people the child has never met.

How Common is RAD?

There is very little information regarding the frequency of occurrence of RAD because it is a relatively new psychiatric diagnosis. Initial research suggests that RAD is a fairly uncommon disorder. Although many young children, especially those in the child welfare system, have been abused or neglected, a very small percentage of these children exhibit the seriously impaired social relatedness that is required to obtain a RAD diagnosis.

What Causes RAD?

By definition, a child must have experienced abuse, neglect, or suffered extremely poor care to be diagnosed with RAD. This includes a child whose basic physical or emotional needs for comfort, affection, or stimulation have been disregarded, as well as a child who has experienced repeated changes of primary caregivers which have prevented the child from forming stable attachments. The risk for RAD increases for children whose parents are isolated, depressed, lack social support, or who were themselves extremely deprived or abused as children. Children who as infants were "difficult," lethargic, chronically ill, or who were separated from their caregivers during the first weeks of life may be at risk for developing RAD.