Attachment Disorders and Adopted Children

When an adopted child is brought into the home, one of the most important tasks for the adoptive family to do is to build a bond with the child. For some kids bonding happens naturally over time, but for others attachment is very difficult or may not happen at all. Attachment is a necessary process in the adoptive family for the child to feel secure and loved, so it is important to identify any issues as early as possible.

When assessing whether a child has an attachment disorder, parents might see varying degrees of issues across a spectrum with secure attachment at one end and no attachment at the other end. The following are general definitions of insecure attachments that adopted kids may form with their families.

Avoidant Attachment

Children with avoidant attachment have had parent figures that have been rejecting or emotionally unavailable. To protect themselves, the children have learned to avoid closeness with others and may appear very independent.

Ambivalent Attachment

Children with ambivalent attachments tend to seek attention from their parents but then find the interaction too intrusive. These kids develop anxious and insecure feelings because they find the parent’s communication inconsistent.

Disorganized Attachment

Disorganized attachment occurs when a child’s emotional needs are not being met or being dealt with inconsistently by the parent, quite often in a traumatic manner. While letting their parent know of their needs, children may become fearful, overwhelmed or disoriented.

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders clinically recognizes RAD as a form of severe insecure attachment. This disorder is divided into two categories:

Inhibited - emotionally withdrawn and rarely seeks comforts of parents.

Disinhibited - tend to be overly sociable even with strangers, indiscriminate in seeking affection and comfort.

Reasons Attachment is Interrupted

Even though many adoption professionals believe healthy attachments can be made with adoptive parents if the child was able to attach to a birth parent or foster parent, this is not always the case (Gray, 2002). Kids who have joined their families through adoption are at risk of not being able to attach to their adoptive parents because of factors in the children's prior lives. According to Deborah Gray’s book Attaching in Adoption, [Perspectives Press Inc., 2002] there are some common reasons why children have attachment issues.

• Separation from parents through foster care moves
• Adoption after attachment to another parent figure has occurred
• Prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol
• Traumas like sexual abuse, physical abuse, and domestic violence
• Major depression, schizophrenia, or manic-depressive illness in the parent figure
• Drug or alcohol addiction in the parent figure
• Orphanage care
• Hospitalization of parent or child, during which children lose access to their parents
• Neglect

Help for Attachment Disorders

Parents who suspect their child may have issues related to attachment should seek the help of an attachment therapist and explore treatment options relating to the needs of their child and family. By researching attachment issues and knowing where to look for help, adoptive parents can give their children a solid start in their new lives.

For ideas of activities that encourage attachment and bonding with kids read Attaching to Adopted Infants and Toddlers, and Attaching to School Age Kids.

Reference:

Gray, Deborah. Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents. Indiana:Perspectives Press Inc., 2002.

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