An emotional and behavioral disorder marked by a child’s inability to establish a healthy parent-child relationship of trust and reciprocal exchange of affection. This is most often a result of repeated separations from a primary caretaker and disruptions in the cycle of the child’s feelings of need and having those needs satisfied before the age of five. Children with reactive attachment disorder may fail to initiate or respond appropriately to most social interactions, or they may be indiscriminate in their interactions-overly friendly with people they don’t know. A great deal of material on this subject, as well as parent support groups, is available for adoptive families of children with this disorder.