Reactive attachment disorder

A disorder occurring in young children following a history of grossly inadequate caregiving, characterized by consistent failure to initiate or respond to comforting from caregivers, limited positive affect, and social withdrawal. The child does not seek comfort from caregivers when distressed.

Symptoms

• Failure to seek support from caregiver in stressful situations (also: failure to seek support from caregiver, failure to seek support, lack of attachment to caregiver, does not seek help from caregiver, no contact with caregiver)
• Absent or minimal response to caregiver comfort attempts (also: absent response to comfort, absent response to comfort, does not respond to support, absent emotional response, rejection of comfort)
• Markedly limited emotional expression (also: limited emotional expression, shallow emotional expression, minimal emotional expression, limited showing of emotions, emotional flatness)
• Social withdrawal (also: Social withdrawal and lack of interest in contact with others, social withdrawal, social isolation, avoiding people, lack of social contacts)
• Lack of interest in social relationships (also: Lack of typical interest in relationships and social interactions, little interest in social relationships, little interest in people, low need for relationships, absent social motivation)

ICD-11 diagnostic criteria

• znaczne nieprawidłowości w opiece nad dzieckiem
• brak poszukiwania pocieszenia u opiekuna
• ograniczone reakcje emocjonalne wobec opiekuna
• objawy rozwijają się we wczesnym dzieciństwie

How to recognise

In the ICD-11 framework, the core symptoms taken into account when recognising Reactive attachment disorder are:

• brak poszukiwania wsparcia u opiekuna

Differential diagnosis

When diagnosing Reactive attachment disorder, the following ICD-11 disorders should be considered in the differential diagnosis:

• Nadmierna łatwość w nawiązywaniu relacji społecznych w dzieciństwie (6B45)
• Zaburzenie ze spektrum autyzmu (6A02)

Synonyms and related terms

failure to seek support from caregiver, failure to seek support, lack of attachment to caregiver, does not seek help from caregiver, no contact with caregiver, lack of relational support, absent attachment response, does not seek caregiver, does not turn for help, does not seek comfort, avoids caregiver, does not turn to caregiver, does not seek support, absent response to comfort, does not respond to support, absent emotional response, rejection of comfort, indifference to comfort, no relief after support, does not calm down, comfort does not work, does not accept comfort, remains indifferent, absent response to help, limited emotional expression, shallow emotional expression, minimal emotional expression, limited showing of emotions, emotional flatness, weak emotional expression

Frequently asked questions

What are the symptoms of Reactive attachment disorder?

Symptoms associated with Reactive attachment disorder (ICD-11 6B44) include: Failure to seek support from caregiver in stressful situations, Absent or minimal response to caregiver comfort attempts, Markedly limited emotional expression, Social withdrawal, Lack of interest in social relationships.

How is Reactive attachment disorder diagnosed according to ICD-11?

According to ICD-11, the diagnostic criteria for Reactive attachment disorder (6B44) include: znaczne nieprawidłowości w opiece nad dzieckiem; brak poszukiwania pocieszenia u opiekuna; ograniczone reakcje emocjonalne wobec opiekuna; objawy rozwijają się we wczesnym dzieciństwie.

What disorders are in the differential diagnosis of Reactive attachment disorder?

The differential diagnosis of Reactive attachment disorder (6B44) includes: Nadmierna łatwość w nawiązywaniu relacji społecznych w dzieciństwie (6B45), Zaburzenie ze spektrum autyzmu (6A02).

WHO ICD-11 source

View this entry in the official WHO ICD-11 browser: 6B44 – WHO ICD-11