Signs of attachment disorders and social functioning among early adolescents with a history of institutional care

BACKGROUND: Institutional 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. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between signs of RAD and DSED and social functioning in early adolescence. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Our 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). METHOD: Signs 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. RESULTS: Signs of RAD predicted poorer general social functioning (β=−.36, p