ArticleChild abuse & neglect2019
Signs of attachment disorders and social functioning among early adolescents with a history of institutional care.
Article in Child abuse & neglect, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analyses of the Associations Between Disinhibited Social Engagement Behaviors and Child Attachment Insecurity or Disorganization.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of foster care intervention and caregiving quality on the bidirectional development of executive functions and social skills following institutional rearing.Developmental science · 2023Trial
- Social communication deficits following early-life deprivation and relation to psychopathology: a randomized clinical trial of foster care.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2020Trial
- Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder in Early Childhood Predicts Reduced Competence in Early Adolescence.Journal of abnormal child psychology · 2019Trial
- Disinhibited social engagement and reactive attachment behaviours in children assessed for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): Distinguishing effects of maltreatment from inhibitory control difficulties.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- Understanding everyday victimization experiences in vulnerable youth: an ecological momentary assessment approach.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Validation of the Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder Assessment (RADA): AAssessment · 2025Article
- The Need for Better Attachment Bonds Between Institutional Caregivers and Children in Residential Care: A Systematic Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Social competencies of children with disinhibited social engagement disorder: A systematic review.JCPP advances · 2024Article
- A Systematic Review on Assessing Assessments: Unveiling Psychometric Properties of Instruments for Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder in Minors under Protective Measures.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Reactive Attachment Disorder and Its Relationship to Psychopathology: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Growth in self-regulation over the course of adolescence mediates the effects of foster care on psychopathology in post-institutionalized children: a randomized clinical trial.Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2021Article
- Early caregiving quality predicts consistency of competent functioning from middle childhood to adolescence following early psychosocial deprivation.Development and psychopathology · 2021Article
- Reactive attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior in middle childhood: the role of Secure Base Script knowledge.BMC psychiatry · 2020Article
- Cortisol and Parenting Predict Pathways to Disinhibited Social Engagement and Social Functioning in Previously Institutionalized Children.Journal of abnormal child psychology · 2020Article
- Friendship and social functioning following early institutional rearing: The role of ADHD symptoms.Development and psychopathology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInstitutional rearing is associated with increased risk for reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED). Disorders of attachment involve disturbances in children's primary caregiving relationships, and are likely to disturb multiple domains of social functioning.
objectiveTo examine associations between signs of RAD and DSED and social functioning in early adolescence. PARTICIPANTS AND
settingOur participants were 110 children with a history of institutional rearing and 50 community comparison adolescents from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, based in Bucharest, Romania. Participants were assessed at age 12 years (M age in years = 12.80, SD = 0.71).
methodSigns of RAD and DSED were obtained through caregiver report. Reports of social functioning were provided by caregivers and teachers. General and specific domains of social functioning were identified using bi-factor modeling. A general social functioning factor and four specific factors were revealed: peer conflict, caregiver views as victim, teacher views as victim, and social competence.
resultsSigns of RAD predicted poorer general social functioning (β=-0.36, p < .01, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-.33, -.09]) and poorer social competence (β=-0.38, p < .01, 95% CI[-0.05, -.01]) above and beyond time spent in institutional care and placement disruptions. Signs of DSED (β=-0.38, p < .001, 95% CI[-0.49, -.16]) along with placement disruptions (β=-0.22, p < .05, 95% CI[-.29, -.01]) predicted poorer general social functioning above and beyond time spent in institutional care. Signs of DSED predicted higher scores on caregiver views as victim (β = 0.29, p < .05, 95% CI[0.02, 0.14]) and lower scores on social competence (β=-0.29, p < .01, 95% CI[-.06, -.01]) above and beyond time spent in institutional care and placement disruptions.
conclusionsAttachment disorder signs in early adolescence are problematic for social functioning, although the manifestation of these social difficulties differs based on whether RAD or DSED signs are present.
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