Objective: To explore attachment narratives in children diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Method: 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.

Despite its importance in public health, reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is an under-researched and little used clinical category. Abnormalities of social relatedness have long been documented in children who have been abused, neglected or institutionalised, but there have been more recent efforts to define these behaviours within the psychiatric nosology. There has been an implicit assumption that the central deficit in RAD is in the attachment system, but this has caused controversy and may have blocked research. We propose that RAD is better construed within the framework of intersubjectivity, which has a central role in the development of core brain and social functions and may also have had an important role in the evolution of a key human characteristic-complex social functioning. This broader framework may potentially explain apparently diverse symptoms such as indiscriminate friendliness and negative or unpredictable reunion responses. Finally, we suggest that a change of name may be useful in progressing the field, but accept that this may be difficult until there is better agreement in the clinical and scientific communities about the core features and aetiology of this disorder.

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