Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
Reactive Attachment Disorder
DEFINITION
- Disorder of infancy or early childhood characterized by a pattern of inhibited, emotionally withdrawn behavior toward adult caregivers
- Rare, but when it does occur is most often in a child who has experienced extremely insufficient care (e.g., institutional upbringing, frequent foster care changes)
- Reactive Attachment Disorder is classified under the Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)[1].
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Last updated: September 3, 2017
Citation
Halls, Andrew, and Carisa Perry-Parrish. "Reactive Attachment Disorder." Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide, The Johns Hopkins University, 2017. Johns Hopkins Guides, www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787064/all/Reactive_Attachment_Disorder.
Halls A, Perry-Parrish C. Reactive Attachment Disorder. Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2017. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787064/all/Reactive_Attachment_Disorder. Accessed September 29, 2025.
Halls, A., & Perry-Parrish, C. (2017). Reactive Attachment Disorder. In Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. The Johns Hopkins University. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787064/all/Reactive_Attachment_Disorder
Halls A, Perry-Parrish C. Reactive Attachment Disorder [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2017. [cited 2025 September 29]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787064/all/Reactive_Attachment_Disorder.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Reactive Attachment Disorder
ID - 787064
A1 - Halls,Andrew,
AU - Perry-Parrish,Carisa,Ph.D.
Y1 - 2017/09/03/
BT - Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
UR - https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787064/all/Reactive_Attachment_Disorder
PB - The Johns Hopkins University
DB - Johns Hopkins Guides
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
