With no other precipitating factors, like abuse/neglect, multiple and inconsistent caregivers, FAS/FAE, is there any study that proves that Reactive Attachment Disorder (Not some of the other attachment disorders) is caused by infant Adoption alone?
Linny, I’m not arguing that attachment therapy is a load of crap. That’s not the same thing as a Reactive Attachment Disorder diagnosis. That rebirthing therapy crap has been discredited by every reputable mental health journal out there. That’s not what I’m asking for, though. I’m asking for a bona fide study that proves that infant adoption is the only cause of reactive attachment disorder.

Some people use the term RAD loosely to mean issues with attachment. RAD, like ADHD, has been wrongly diagnosed and overused. In literal terms, an Infant Adoption with no mitigating factors should not be diagnosed with RAD. In MedLine, all studies I could find only include only children with abusive/neglectful backgrounds.

The DSM-IV defines RAD as "described as markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness." It is not merely a feeling of insecurity in relationship. Our brains are formed through a series of repeated connections–connections that are made over and over again. The brains of children with RAD have quite literally formed differently than other brains. For example, my oldest’s first father would laugh while beating him. My son learned that laughter means iminenimminent He is literally terrified of laughter. Because of this, the laughter of his friends used to send him into terror. That is not a reaction common to adoptees without symptoms of RAD.

These children do not understand how social interactions work. Another example is that my son cannot tell the difference between sad and angry faces. So, when other children are sad and upset, he will fight with them believing they are angry at him. Adoption alone does not cause people to lose the ability to understand facial expressions and body language

I am an adoptee who was abused as a child, and I know that my trust issues are not anything like the symptoms of my children’s RAD. In addition to my experience as an adoptee, as well as my research, I have not found any studies that claim RAD to be something associated with adoption in which no abuse/neglect is present. Furthermore, I have only seen RAD studies that include extreme cases of abuse and neglect in children under the age of 5.