Attachment Styles And Friendship Maintenance

The attachment style that an individual exhibits as an infant can affect their adult romantic relationships. An attachment pattern is established in early childhood attachments and continues to function as a working model for relationships in adulthood. This model of attachment influences how each of us reacts to our needs and how we go about getting them met. The ability to recognize one 's attachment can help someone to understand their strengths and vulnerabilities in a relationship.

What is attachment theory and why is it an important aspect of intimate relationships and love? The attachment theory of love maintains that the degree and quality of attachments one experiences in early life influence one’s later relationships (Strong & Cohen, 2014). John Bowlby proposed that, based on infants interactions with caregivers, infants construct expectations about relationships in the form of internal working models- cognitive representations of themselves and other people that guide their processing of social information and behavior in relationships (Sigelman & Rider, 2015). This research was further elaborated on by Mary Ainsworth and colleagues, who believed there were three styles of infant attachment: secure, anxious or ambivalent, and avoidant.

Brennan, Kelly A., Clark, Catherine L., & Shaver, Phillip, R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrated overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (46-76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Fraley (2002) completed a meta analysis of studies concerning attachment in order to investigate the level of attachment pattern’s continuity throughout life. The study indicated that there was a certain stability of the attachment pattern, and that the stability is independent of time. Even though it is theorized that a secure pattern will be likely to stay unchanged, it is still indicated that experiences such as bad relationships will be able to change the attachment pattern (Fraley,

Attachment theory is an emotional bond that connects one person to another. Attachment theory deals with intimacy in relationships and the impact an attachment can have across a person’s lifespan. Attachment theory usually focuses on the relationships between a child and a parent/caregiver or between partners. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth are responsible for the creation of attachment theory after they began to work on mother-infant interactions. There were three categories that were formed due to their findings; Secure, Insecure, Anxious attachment with 3 sub categories avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized. According to the article on Attachment style and the Cognitive Representation of Communication Situation attachment theory is associated specifically with communicative behavior in relationships. The bond between a child and mother is the primary force of infant development as per Bowlby and Ainsworth.

Three predominant styles of attachment, secure, insecure-anxious and insecure-avoidant reflect expectations about the reliability and availability of attachment figures (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Individuals who portray secure attachment styles tend to value relationships that provide trust, comfort, and availability. In contrast, individuals with insecure-avoidant or insecure-anxious styles of attachment have difficulty recognizing, acknowledging, and/or valuing secure-based relationships. Avoidant individuals experience discomfort when becoming close with others. In contrast, insecure-anxious individuals report relationships as a threat,

Attachment theory is accepted by most psychologists and psychiatrists as the best explanation for how we develop the capacity to form relationships with others and relate to our environment. It asserts that the methods we use to relate to others, manage our needs, express our demands, and shape our expectations for the world are rooted in our relationships with our early caregivers. Through these interactions we learn to balance our feelings and need states with others and to establish our varying degrees of independence, dependence, power, and control. Attachment also impacts self-esteem through the experience of conflict with caregivers.

Humans are complicated and so are our relationships. Attachment theory is a psychological modal used to guide clinical interventions to understand the long-term effects of interpersonal human relationships. However, this theory is not about relationships in general but is about human relations and the support seeking behavior in response to emotional trauma or threats (Vrtička & Vuilleumier,

The attachment theory of Bowlby (1980) helps to explain human bonding, conceptualize attachment, and proximity seeking. According to Lee and Hankin (2009) comfort received from caregiver reassure a child that at the time of distress caregiver will be with them. Furthermore, Lee and Hankin (2009) explains that the attachment within infant-caregiver is regarded as a basis for future relation dynamics of a child. Child, who is having anxious attachment are having difficulty to take caregiver as a secure person and they are characterized as anxious person (Lee & Hankin, 2009). Hamilton (2000) explained about a 12-year longitudinal study that found infant attachment style helps to predict attachment style in adolescence. In addition, a meta-analysis

Whether you grew up with organized or disorganized attachment, every type effects how you handle relationships as an adult. Rising studies show that connection early on has a sufficient role in adulthood bonds (Morris & Weiss, 1982). The process of studying infant to adult attachment was mainly started by two men named Hazan and Shaver in 1987. Shaver and Hazen (1988) connected their theory to past establishments of how we love. They also gave sufficient support for the three different attachment types. Positive characteristics in relationships correlate to secure attachment; Couples who show less intimacy and happiness tend to be involved in avoidant attachment; anxious-ambivalent attachment correlates to couples who show no satisfaction, except intimacy. (Feeney & Noller, 1990). Thanks to all the data and studies collects

Attachment theory, according to Morelli and Rothbaum (2007), is the development of a child’s relationships with the self and others necessary for the psychological health of the individual. It refers to the meaningful connections an individual makes with people. The quality of attachment one has with others widely affects their development, especially during their childhood (Morelli & Rothbaum, 2007). Attachment theory mainly focuses on the infant-mother bond, as it is important that the attachment formed is secure for the infant’s well-being and development (Morelli & Rothbaum, 2007).

Attachment Theory Attachment theory is a psychological framework that explores the dynamics of short-term and long-term interpersonal connections among human beings. The theory provides a structural framework for scrutinizing social support in two distinctive ways. Firstly, the theory presents social support as a dyadic process involving two diverse behavioral systems, namely caregiving systems and attachment systems. Secondly, the theory postulates the importance of caregiving and support interrelationship in developing security and trust between a mother and an infant.

Calisir (2009) stated that attachments help children give meaning to the world, self, and the child’s personality development is dependent upon attachments formed. According to the attachment theory, children are born unattached and as the child interacts with their caregiver’s, attachment is formed and stays with the child throughout their entire life (Zeanah et al., 2011). The quality of care provided by the parents, to the child, determines the type of attachment that is formed and how the child develops as an adult (Monks et al.,

In the world of psychology, we often associate the words “secure attachment” with early psychological studies examining children’s attachment to their caregivers. However, more recent research by Konrath, Chopik, Hsing, & O’Brien (2014) focuses instead on the various types of attachments that adult individuals form with others and how these attachments may be changing across generations. In this study, Konrath et al. (2014) found an increase in the proportion of insecure attachment styles, particularly the dismissive attachment style. This study defined these attachment styles according to how a person views oneself and others. In secure attachment styles, people hold positive views both of themselves and others. In dismissive attachment, the self is viewed favourably while others are viewed in a negative fashion (Konrath et al., 2014). The increase in dismissive attachment therefore corresponds to a decrease in a positive view of others across time. These findings by Konrath et al. (2014) may have implications going forward as our society faces the possibility of increased detachment and a weakening of the social bonds that define humanity as a whole.

Attachment seems to be a part of your life from the time you are born to adulthood. There are different attachment styles that take place but the way you handle your attachments is all a part of how you were raised. Cindy Hazan and Philip Shaver researched that adults that were in secured relationships looked upon their parent’s relationships as secured. There are different attachment styles that adults can have. Three styles of attachment are secure, avoidant, and anxious. Secure attachment is when people are positive about their relationship and not troubled by stress. They are willing to be in a long and committed relationship rather than fish. Avoidant attachment