Introduction
Attachment disorder- According to research done by Boris and Zeanah, 2005, attachment disorder is a condition, which occurs during the first three years of a child in which the child fails to connect, bond, or love his parents. Attachment disorder describes an emotional and behavioral condition of a young child but in some cases, this condition applies to older children and adults also. The problem generally occurs from the lack of trust, attachment, and bonding during early childhood. There is no general definition of the term attachment disorder, but it is true that this disorder arises due to the lack of attachment during the early years. The main causes of this disorder are abuse, neglect, separation from the caregiver, frequent changes in the caregivers and lack of responsiveness to the child, lack of parental attention, etc. (Boris & Zeanah, 2005).
Main body
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)(2008), confusing and frightening experiences in early childhood develop insecure attachment. Strong parent support and attachment are necessary for successful intervention. Now we will discuss what attachment is and why it is so important.
Attachment- According to research done by Boris and Zeanah, 2005, we can define attachment as the emotional tie between two people. For a child, it begins with bonding with the parents. This bond is very important because it forms the basis of the child’s relationship with the world. A child’s early relationship governs his future behavior. Attachment influences every factor of a child’s life including mind, body, emotions, and relationships. Mutual bonding between a parent and a child creates attachment. It is an interactive process. Babies always have an instinct to attach to the persons who love them. She will always feel attached to a loving and caring caregiver. Even a small baby can understand and identify with the security and love provided by the parent or a caregiver. Due to this bond and attachment in young children, they learn very important things for their future life. They learn the value of basic trust and start reciprocating it. They explore the environment with a feeling of security, which is necessary for the development of early social skills. It makes them better people with strong values and they can manage their emotions. They have a positive outlook towards the family and the world. They perform better and promote secure attachment in their children. All the basic and cognitive skills are more developed and they are better equipped to face any adverse situation. Children with a base of secure attachment always perform better in all the areas as compared to the children who are deprived of this special bond. Thus, good attachment parenting not only changes children’s behavior but also changes negative beliefs. Prevention is always better than cure. Attachment is all about building relationships. Infant and children need to be physically close to their parents so that they feel safe, (Prior & Glaser,2006).
According to, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) (2008), in every situation of attachment disorder, the children experience the breakage of the attachment bond by either neglect or abuse. Due to the bad experiences of a child during the early years, they fail to develop secure attachment bonds with parents or caregivers. It affects the early development of a child and leads to many problems including emotional, social, cognitive development, and values. They have difficulty in forming lasting relationships. They do not show any genuine affection for their parents and show a complete lack of trust. The children with this type of disorder learn that the world is an unsafe place to live and create a protective shell around them, which completely isolates them. They do not depend on the parent or the caregiver to protect them. They are not able to give love properly and due to this, a rage develops within them. They become self-centered and selfish. According to researches, the attachment between a child and a parent is very important. In many children with this type of disorder, either they have faced abuse or neglect but in many affluent families, the reason is simply neglected by the parents. The children have to live alone with the caregivers because parents have money but they do not have time. The children living without any secure attachment have abnormal levels of the stress hormone, which affect their brain as well as body. It also affects the neuron connections of the brain. The attachment disorder can pass to the next generation also. The person suffering from this disorder will fail to develop secure attachment bonds with their children and they abuse and neglect their children (Prior & Glaser 2006).
Causes of attachment disorder
Caroline (1997), explained there are several causes of this disorder but the few main reasons are:
- Neglect of physical or emotional needs
- Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse
- Lack of love and attachment by parent or caregiver
- Frequent changes of caregivers
- Abandonment of child by parent or caregiver
- Death of parent
- Maternal depression
- Unwanted pregnancy
- Undiagnosed and untreated illness in small babies likes, colic, ear infection, etc.
- Poverty and a highly stressful environment
- Drug or alcohol use by parents
- Poor parenting skills and lack of responsiveness to the child
- Premature delivery
Symptoms of attachment disorder
In ‘attachment disorder’ a child’s development and skills are the worst affected. According to Caroline (1997), they will show the behavioral problem. They will become hyperactive, aggressive, and destructive and try to resist everything, try to steal, and try to do bad things. There will be several mood swings; sometimes they will be very angry and sometimes very depressed. Their mood will swing from one extreme to another. There will be a lack of self-control and they will have a negative feeling about themselves and relationships in general. They will not perform well academically and show a lack of attention. They will lack basic trust and do not want to receive or give love or affection. They will show signs of depression and maintain pure hygiene. They will be infatuated with the dark sides of life. They will show abnormal speech patterns, poor relationships with parents, and show abnormal affection to strangers (Caroline, 1997).
In reactive attachment disorder-In extreme cases, the disorder leads to reactive attachment disorder. This is the clinically recognized form of attachment disorder. If not treated early in the childhood this problem can persist and can lead to troubled adulthood (Chaffin & Hanson & Saunders et al, 2006).
Treatment of attachment disorder
It is never too late to start treatment, sadly only love is not enough for children suffering from this disorder. The first and foremost thing that is required is the need to repair attachments.
As we have understood the importance of secure attachment earlier, it is necessary to create healthier bonds with the child. Better relationships with parents or caregivers can provide strength for a child’s developing mind and even the neuron connections of the brain are changed. Only love is not enough, there should be proper therapy for troubled children. According to Chaffin and Hanson and Saunders et al, (2006), the therapy focuses on the corrective measures which one should take and how to build secure attachment between a child and a parent. Parent involvement is a must for this kind of therapy because a specialist has to work on the base cause of the problem. First of all, a parent should understand how a child is feeling and what his fears are. Then the parents should learn good parenting skills so that they can provide secure attachment to the children. They should also learn to communicate with the child in order to fasten the healing process. A significant part of the treatment is to work on the emotional aspect of the child. There should be intensive therapeutic working with the child. There may not be a positive response in the beginning but with the help of experts and proper treatment, there is always hope (Curtner & Smith & Middlemiss & Green & Murray & Barone & Stolzer & Parker&Nicholson,2006).
References
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)(2005). Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Reactive Attachment Disorder of Infancy and Early Childhood. (PDF). Boris, N. & Zeanah, C. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Nov; 44:1206–1219 (Guideline at [1]).
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M., van IJzendoorn, M. and Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. (PDF) Psychological Bulletin 129, 195–215
M. E. Curtner-Smith, W. Middlemiss, K. Green, A. D. Murray, M. Barone, J. Stolzer, L. Parker, and B. Nicholson An Elaboration on the Distinction Between Controversial Parenting and Therapeutic Practices Versus Developmentally Appropriate Attachment Parenting: A Comment on the APSAC Task Force Report. Child Maltreat, November 1, 2006; 11(4): 373 – 374.
Chaffin M, Hanson R, Saunders BE, et al (2006). “Report of the APSAC task force on attachment therapy, reactive attachment disorder, and attachment problems.”. Child Maltreat 11 (1): 76–89: 10.1177/1077559505283699. PMID 16382093.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)(2008).Facts from families. Child Abuse – The Hidden Bruises | American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Web.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)(2008).Facts from families. Reactive Attachment Disorders. Web.
Lacey Caroline (1997). A First Guide to Attachment Disorder. Web.
Prior, V., & Glaser, D. (2006). Understanding attachment and attachment disorders: theory, evidence and practice.page 1-34. Child and adolescent mental health series. London: Jessica Kingsley.
May Joanne.” Parents as Partners in the Treatment of Attachment Disordered Children” (Attachment disorder therapy). Web.