An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school-age children.
OBJECTIVE
To explore attachment narratives in children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD).


METHODS
We compared attachment narratives, as measured by the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task, in a group of 33 children with a diagnosis of RAD and 37 comparison children.


RESULTS
The relative risk (RR) for children with RAD having an insecure attachment pattern was 2.4 (1.4-4.2) but 30% were rated as securely attached. Within the RAD group, children with a clear history of maltreatment were more likely to be Insecure-Disorganised than children without a clear history of maltreatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Reactive attachment disorder is not the same as attachment insecurity, and questions remain about how attachment research informs clinical research on attachment disorders.
Minnis
Helen
H
Section of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, Scotland. h.minnis@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Green
Jonathan
J
O'Connor
Thomas G
TG
Liew
Ashley
A
Glaser
D
D
Taylor
E
E
Follan
M
M
Young
D
D
Barnes
J
J
Gillberg
C
C
Pelosi
A
A
Arthur
J
J
Burston
A
A
Connolly
B
B
Sadiq
F A
FA