Attachment Disorders

Attachment disorders can limit a child’s ability to communicate in ways that build satisfying and meaningful relationships later on in life. Traumatic experiences even early on in a child’s life can affect their developing brains. Many people think that an infant will not remember traumatic events. This may be true for a single event in the infant’s life, but does not account for constant trauma. For this reason, the bonding experience is extremely important and plays a large part in shaping who we become. On the other hand, bonding does not always automatically occur. This can be for a number of reasons including, but not limited to drug abuse, rape, and emotional disorders of the caregiver. The effects on the child as a result on missing out on the bonding experience are huge. In this paper, I will discuss the positive aspects of bonding as well as the issues associated with attachment disorders.

Studies have shown that bonding within “at least

30-60 minutes of early contact in privacy should be provided for every parent and infant to enhance the bonding experience" (Klaus and Kennell, 1982:56). Bonding has many positive health benefits to the mother as well, which include triggering of hormones

Source: Freyer. (1998) Giving Birth, before Labour

that help to expel the placenta, heal and close the uterus, and to produce more colostrums or breast milk. Bonding helps the newborn become familiar and feel safe in his new world. It also promotes a quiet state, which may be a time of intense learning for the baby. “The "wiring" for attachment (the drive) is in place before or at birth, and under the right set of conditions it can be activated” (Fisher, 2006). Bonding, offers nothing but positive things. Bonding with our baby includes responding to their needs, touch, eye contact, food, and cleanliness. To further drive home the positive effect of bonding, Aliene S. Linwood writes in an article for healthofchildren.com, “Many parents, mothers in

particular, begin bonding with their child before birth. The physical dependency the fetus has with the mother creates a basis for emotional and psychological bonding after birth. This attachment provides the foundation that allows babies to thrive in the world. When the umbilical cord is cut at birth, physical attachment to the mother ceases, and emotional and psychological bonding begins. A firm bond between mother and child affects all later development, and it influences how well children will react to new experiences, situations, and stresses” (Linwood, 2007). Although bonding should be done immediately, not all hope is lost. In addition, even if we do not bond immediately after birth, it is still possible to form an attachment later on. While bonding is always very important in the early stages of life, we as humans bond with each other throughout our entire lives.

Source: Kennenlernen, E. (2005).

After birth, Maternal bonding.

When we are babies, we go through attachment cycles. This cycle consists of baby communicating to us most likely by crying because his needs need to be met by either affection, food, touch, warmth, or to be cleaned. When baby cries, his mother comes to him to attend to this need. While she is tending to him she is also soothing him by touch and sound. As a result of this, her baby is learning trust and security. Furthermore, that feeling of trust and security will enable the child to grow into a secure and trusting adult who has the ability to form and maintain healthy relationships. On the other hand, if mother neglects her baby’s cries and needs repeatedly, her baby learns distrust. She also may be inconsistent in her caretaking abilities or angry whenever she interacts with him. Babies are incredibly sensitive to emotions and can sense anger and tension. It will not take long before the baby learns that his needs cannot be taken care of. He learns to that only he can care for himself. This distrust will be internalized as anger and rage. In his book Attachment, Trauma, and Healing: Understanding and Treating Attachment Disorder in Children and Families, Terry Levy states, “Attachment is the deep and enduring connection established between a child and caregiver in the first few years of life. It profoundly influences every component of the human condition: mind, body, emotions, relationships, and values. Children lacking secure attachments with caregivers may grow up to be parents who are incapable of establishing this crucial foundation with their own children” (Levy, 2000). Some symptoms of detachment in infants include: resistance to cuddling, baby does not conform to parent’s body, resists touch, lack of eye contact, and does not respond to smiles or playful gestures such as cooing. Failure to attach can promote anger and anxiety in adulthood. This may not rear its ugly head until a romantic relationship ensues and the lover decides to end the relationship of leave. The thought of that person leaving is too much for the sufferer to bear. This may cause them to become physically violent in order to try to make the person stay. Depending on the emotional health of the other person, he or she may just decide to stay, further exacerbating the volatile relationship. On the other hand, the sufferer may stay in abusive relationships because she fears leaving her abuser. She will attach herself to anyone, unhealthy or not. I can only imagine how many of our incarcerated individuals, serial killers and rapists may be a result of attachment disorders.

Problems with attachment can be an immediate result of child abuse or a traumatic event in the child’s life. Children taken away from their parents as a result of abuse usually end up in many different foster care homes. Lack of stability and inconsistent caregiver interactions can also cause trust and attachment issues.

Although there are a variety of attachment disorders, Reactive Attachment Disorder can be described at the most severe of them all. Attachment Reactive Disorder or R.A.D. is a clinically recognized form of severe insecure attachment. Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder are so neurologically disrupted that they cannot attach