Table of contents:
- Types of attachment
- What is disorganized attachment: definition
- Disorganized attachment characteristics with examples
- Consequences of disorganized attachment
- How to treat disorganized attachment
Attachment is understood as the affective bond that a child develops with his mother during early childhood. The type of attachment you develop will determine a large part of the social relationships you establish throughout your life. To become aware at the social level of the importance of this fact and to promote parenting practices that promote secure attachments is a relevant measure of prevention of physical, mental and emotional health.
In the following article we will talk about disorganized attachment, a type of attachment resulting from negative childhood experiences that develops maladaptive behaviors in the people who establish it. We will explain what it consists of, what its consequences are and how to treat it clinically.
You may also be interested in: Toxic parents: what they are like and how to treat them Index- Types of attachment
- What is disorganized attachment: definition
- Disorganized attachment characteristics with examples
- Consequences of disorganized attachment
- How to treat disorganized attachment
Types of attachment
According to the attachment theory of J. Bowly, attachment is an instinctive behavior that occurs in the newborn with respect to its mother (or main caregiver) as a biological survival mechanism. The baby seeks emotional protection in his mother that will allow him, later, to venture safely to the exploration of the world. There are four types of attachment:
- Secure attachment: shows separation anxiety but when the attachment figure returns, it calms down.
- Anxious-avoidant attachment: shows little anxiety in the face of separation and little interest in the return of the attachment figure.
- Ambivalent-resistant anxious attachment: shows separation anxiety but when the mother returns, she shows her anger, despite wanting to be with her.
- Disorganized-disoriented attachment: he is confused before the separation but does not approach the attachment figure as soon as he returns. It is the type of attachment that will be analyzed in this article.
Here you can see in detail the types of attachment and their consequences.
What is disorganized attachment: definition
The disorganized attachment arises as a result of a childhood experience of confusion regarding the behavior of their parents. Their behavior is unpredictable, which generates in the infant feelings of uncertainty, fear and lack of coherence and order. This type of attachment usually develops in children who live in environments with intra-family violence, where violent behaviors alternate with others of affection or fear and insecurity in the parents themselves.
Disorganized attachment characteristics with examples
Children with disorganized attachment are characterized by:
- Emit contradictory behaviors towards caregivers: approach, seeking their care, and avoidance, out of fear.
- Little or no exploration of the environment. They have generalized the experience with their parents so that they perceive the world as threatening
- This limitation in their experimentation with the environment, together with the consequences of their own traumatic experience, hinders their cognitive development (deficits in attention, concentration and memory; poor, disorganized and redundant verbal expression; etc).
- Low self-esteem, the result of the undervaluation received from their caregivers.
- Dissociation: they lose contact with reality due to their desire and impossibility of wanting to flee. Here you will see more information about the concept of dissociation.
Consequences of disorganized attachment
The consequences in the life of the child, adolescent or adult in cases where a disorganized attachment is established are quite negative, due to the affective and psychological consequences that it causes in those affected. We will highlight the following:
- Aggression: these are people who isolate themselves socially or establish toxic relationships and remain defensive so that, in the face of the minimum situation of conflict, they may respond aggressively. It is a response that reflects the expression of anger contained by the traumatic experience and, at the same time, the emission of the behavior learned in their environment as a conflict resolution measure.
- Low self-esteem: they internalize a speech based on that emitted by their parents (mostly negative) and on their own deductions of "no-worth" as a way to justify and rationalize the mistreatment received. Here you can see the characteristics of people with low self-esteem.
- Behavior problems: they tend to manifest antisocial, aggressive and challenging behaviors as a result, as we mentioned, of the models learned and of contained anger
- Depression: the result of all the experience, and despite their apparent strength manifested through their aggressiveness, they are people with a great inner affective emptiness. As a result, they often adopt addictive behaviors as a method of "emotional anesthesia." Here you can see tips to help someone with depression.
How to treat disorganized attachment
The treatment of disorganized attachment must contain a multidisciplinary intervention in the case of children and adolescents. It will be necessary to work together with the family, school and social and therapeutic services to achieve positive and lasting changes.
With regard to adults, J. Bowly proposes in his book "A secure base" five tasks to include in the process of therapeutic work on attachment:
- Establish a climate of trust that allows the patient to start a safe relationship with the therapist. This trusting relationship will allow you to delve into the darkest aspects of your life to explore the reasons behind your current life difficulties.
- Accompany him in becoming aware of how he currently creates and maintains his personal relationships: what expectations he has of his behavior and of others; what behaviors it emits automatically and unconsciously (approaching, avoiding, blocking, etc); what responses it generates before the first results of the interactions (calm, fear, frustration and anger, flight,…); etc.
- Analyze the relationship with the therapist himself, which will offer valuable information on how he creates relationships with attachment figures, a result of his previous experiences in childhood.
- Help him to become aware of the extent to which his current thoughts, feelings and behaviors are conditioned by the relationship he had with his parents in the past and with the speech he internalized about himself, about others and about the world from said relationship.
- From the recognition of these mental schemes created from his childhood experience, seek alternatives that allow him to heal those childhood wounds and create a new reality that is more just with himself and with his possibility of personal development
These are complex therapeutic processes that generate defense mechanisms to avoid facing pain and remain, at least, in what is known, that is, the comfort zone. However, despite how hard the process may be, it is necessary to go through it if we want to eliminate the symptoms or clinical pictures that led us to the consultation (anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, antisocial behavior, etc.). It is about healing the wound from the root so that it stops leading to future symptoms, conflicts or diseases. Otherwise, the wound will seek the paths it finds to continue manifesting itself.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Disorganized attachment: what it is, characteristics, consequences and how to treat it, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical Psychology.
Bibliography- Duarte Mendoza, KD (2019). Disorganized attachment, its impact on the emotional development of a child (Bachelor's thesis, BABAHOYO: UTB, 2019).
- Gago, J., de Iniciativa Social, ASC, & de Terapia Familiar, EVN (2014). Attachment theory. The link. Agintzari S. Coop. of Social Initiative. Basque Navarra School of Family Therapy.