Attachmentstyles are characterized by different ways of interacting and behaving in relationships.
During early childhood, these attachment styles center on how children and parents interact.
In adulthood, attachment styles describe attachment patterns in romantic relationships.
Illustration by Jessica Olah, Verywell
The concept of attachment styles grew from attachment theory and the research that emerged throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Today, psychologists typically recognize four main attachment styles: secure, ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized.
At a Glance
Attachment styles are patterns that emerge in our earliest emotional bonds with caregivers.
These early attachment styles play an important role in child development and also influence attachment patterns in adult relationships.
What Is Attachment?
Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure.
John Bowlbydevoted extensive research to attachment, describing it as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.
“Bowlby shared thepsychoanalytic viewthat early experiences in childhood are important for influencing development and behavior later in life.
Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship.
In addition to this, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in survival.
The expectations formed during that period tend to remain relatively unchanged for the rest of the person’s life.
Expectations Stem from Experiences
Finally, he suggested that these expectations that are formed are directly tied to experience.
Researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure attachment.
All of those intervening experiences also play a significant role in shaping adult attachment styles.
Basictemperamentis also thought to play a partial role in attachment.
So what role might factors such as divorce or parental discord play in forming attachment styles?
In one study, researchers found that parental divorce seemed unrelated to attachment style.
However, research in this area indicates that childhood patterns have an important impact on later relationships.
The researchers also found varied beliefs about relationships amongst adults with differing attachment styles.
Subsequent research does suggest that parental divorce or abandonment does have an impact on adult children’s attachment styles.
When frightened, these children will seek comfort from the parent or caregiver.
Parents of securely attached children tend to play more with their children.
Mothers who consistently reject or ignore their infant’s needs tend to produce children who venture to avoid contact.
How many people classify themselves as securely attached?
Ambivalent Attachment Characteristics
Children who are ambivalently attached tend to be extremely suspicious of strangers.
As these children grow older, teachers often describe them as clingy and over-dependent.
This leads to frequent breakups, often because the relationship feels cold and distant.
These individuals feel especially distraught after the end of a relationship.
Avoidant Attachment Characteristics
Children with avoidant attachment styles tend to avoid parents and caregivers.
This avoidance often becomes especially pronounced after a period of absence.
These children might not reject attention from a parent, but neither do they seek out comfort or contact.
Children with an avoidant attachment show no preference between a parent and a complete stranger.
Disorganized Attachment Characteristics
Children with a disorganized-insecure attachment style show a lack of clear attachment behavior.
Their actions and responses to caregivers are often a mix of behaviors, including avoidance or resistance.
Because the child feels both comforted and frightened by the parent, confusion results.
People with a disorganized style may seek out a loving relationship and then suddenly push the other person away.
They oftensabotage their relationshipsand have a hardtime trusting their partners.
This style is often associated withunhealthy relationshipsmarked bytoxicity, clinginess, poor communication, and even abuse.
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