Table of contents:
- What is attachment?
- Observation of attachment in children
- Secure attachment
- Ambivalent insecure attachment
- Avoidant insecure attachment
- Disorganized insecure attachment
Our attachment style affects our lives, from the choice of our partner to how our relationships progress. Because of this, recognizing our attachment style can help us understand our strengths and weaknesses in relationships. Attachment is established in childhood with our parents or caregivers and continues to function in adulthood as a working model for relationships. The concept of attachment comes from the attachment theory that emerged in the 60-70s.
Currently, psychologists recognize 4 main types of attachment that have consequences on how we relate throughout our lives. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain the types of attachment and their consequences.
You may also be interested in: Emotional attachment in adults: types, causes and symptoms Index- What is attachment?
- Observation of attachment in children
- Secure attachment
- Ambivalent insecure attachment
- Avoidant insecure attachment
- Disorganized insecure attachment
What is attachment?
Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure. The study of attachment has its origin in Freud's theories about love, but John Bowlby is the author considered to be the father of attachment theory. This author focused his research on attachment, defining it as "the lasting connection between human beings."
Bowlby shared the psychoanalyst view that early childhood experiences are important for a person's development and behavior throughout their lives.
Furthermore, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component, aiding survival. "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds with particular individuals is a basic component of human nature." For example, we find attachment in the special mother-child bond.
Observation of attachment in children
This study consisted of observing how children between 12 and 18 months reacted when they were left alone (for a short time) and when they were reunited with their mothers.
This study had 5 sequences to examine:
- Mother and son are alone in the room
- The child explores the room under the supervision of the mother
- A stranger enters the room, talks to the mother and approaches the child
- The mother leaves the room silently
- The mother returns and comforts the child
Based on these observations, Ainsworth concluded that there were three types of attachment: secure, ambivalent-insecure, and avoidant-insecure. Later, researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure.
Numerous studies have supported Ainsworth's finding, and subsequent research has revealed that early attachment styles can influence behavior in adult life.
Secure attachment
In childhood, the characteristics of secure attachment are:
- Being able to separate from parents, that is, they can be cared for by other people and accept their comfort to some extent. Although they prefer their parents to strangers
- Seeking parental comfort when scared
- Being visibly upset when the parents leave and being happy when they return, after not seeing them for a while. The contact initiated by a parent is easily accepted by children with a secure attachment and therefore they greet them happily upon their return.
Parents of securely attached children tend to play more with their children. In addition, these parents react more quickly to the needs of their children and are generally more receptive to their children than the parents of insecure children. Studies have shown that securely attached children are more empathetic during the post-childhood stages. Furthermore, they are also less disruptive, aggressive, and more mature than children with ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles.
Forming a secure bond with parents is normal and expected, but it doesn't always happen. Researchers have found a number of factors that contribute to the development of secure attachment, particularly a mother's responsiveness to the needs of her baby during the first year of life. Mothers who respond unconsciously or who interfere with the child's activities tend to raise babies who explore less, cry more, and are more anxious. Mothers who constantly reject or ignore their baby's needs tend to raise children who try to avoid contact.
In adulthood the characteristics of a secure attachment are:
- Tendency to have good, long-lasting and trusting relationships with others
- Tendency to have a good self-esteem
- Enjoy intimate relationships
- Seek social support
- Feel good when you share feelings with your partner and friends
In one study, women with a secure attachment style were found to have more positive feelings about their adult romantic relationships than other women with insecure attachment styles.
Ambivalent insecure attachment
In childhood, ambivalent attachment is characterized by:
- Being extremely suspicious, distrustful of strangers
- Become very stressed if parents leave
- When his parents return, he finds no comfort in them. In some cases, contact with their parents is even rejected or violence is used to drive them away.
Ambivalent attachment is not very common and has been associated with low maternal availability. As these children grow older, teachers describe them as insecure and overly dependent.
In adulthood, the characteristics of an ambivalent attachment are:
- Being reluctant to approach others
- Worrying about whether your partner loves you. Which leads to frequent breakups because the relationship feels cold and distant.
- Great grief when the relationship is broken
Some authors speak of another pathological pattern in which adults with ambivalent attachment cling to young children as a source of security.
Avoidant insecure attachment
The characteristics of avoidant attachment in childhood are:
- Avoid parents. This avoidance becomes especially noticeable after a period of absence of the parents.
- Parents may not be turned away, but contact or comfort is not sought from them
- Show little or no preference for parents over strangers
In adulthood, the characteristics of an avoidant attachment are:
- Having problems with privacy
- Express little emotion in romantic or social relationships and little distress when they are over.
- Inability to share thoughts and feelings with others
An avoidant attachment adult often avoids intimacy with excuses or may fantasize about other people during sex. People with this attachment are more likely to have casual sex.
Disorganized insecure attachment
In childhood, the characteristics of a disorganized attachment are:
- Mix of avoidant and resistant behaviors towards parents. Which shows the lack of clear attachment behavior.
- Appearing dazed or confused in the presence of parents
- Assume a parental role, acting as parents' caregivers
Some authors proposed that inconsistent behavior on the part of parents could favor this type of attachment. Parents who act as figures of fear and reassurance to a child contribute to a disorganized attachment style, as he is so comforted and frightened by the parent himself that he is confused.
The adult with a disorganized attachment is characterized by:
- Have difficulty seeing others without significant distortions
- Significant dysfunction in your ability to form emotionally meaningful relationships and affections
- Their relationships tend to be volatile
- Some people with personality disorders have a disorganized attachment style
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 Types of attachment and their consequences, we recommend that you enter our Emotions category.