Reactive Attachment Disorder and parenting challenges: A qualitative inquiry.

摘要

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a mental health condition that is not very well understood in the mental health field. This debilitating social disorder increasingly affects the psychological well-being of children and adults in our society. Results from this study break new ground in understanding the day to day experiences of parents raising children with RAD. This qualitative, multiple case study investigated the experiences of 15 parents raising children diagnosed with RAD in the general area in a city in Tennessee. Interviews conducted with case study participants revealed detailed descriptions of the behavior and attitudes of their RAD children, the frustrations and misgivings of parents struggling to lead their children toward conformity and away from chronic deviance, and a paucity of successful shaping strategies. Currently existing descriptions of the typical characteristics of a RAD child, such as their difficulty in developing healthy interpersonal and social relationships, difficulty giving and receiving love, lack of empathy, and most commonly, chronic lying and stealing are reinforced.