Why Is Attachment Style Important

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.

Everyone has an attachment style from which they developed in the first two years of their life. This attachment style tends to stay consistent with each person throughout their lifetime and affects their social-emotional development, and thus relationships with other people. Attachment styles greatly affect the choice one makes in life partners, and how they parent their own children. It is important for everyone to gain insight on their own attachment style if they are to know their emotional limits and how to strengthen their flaws in order to develop a better-self and stronger relationships with other people (Norcross, 2011). It is even more so important for caregivers to be aware of their attachment style and how sensitively available they are to the children in their lives. How the primary caregiver responds to the child’s needs, determines the attachment style the child will acquire. To develop a secure attachment the child needs to establish confidence in a reliable caregiver. In this paper I will be talking about the behaviors and interactions that I observed while watching the film “Babies”, and what attachment styles may be formed as a result of those interactions.

The importance of a healthy attachment in early childhood development can lead to a better adult development and skills for daily life. A secure and healthy attachment to the caregiver in infancy to adolescence showcases the importance of building strong relationships and coping skills during periods of stress and anxiety. The research that has been found, goes into detail about the different types of attachments that infants and children can develop as well as what negative and positive aspects come along with the attachments.

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.

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 Style and Romantic Relationships Research Paper Attachment theory has been of interest to many fields of study, from psychology to ethology, even biology and evolution. The developmental implications of the theory can be applied to different personalities, why we actively seek partners or long term relationships, or simply to explain why an infant may cry when its mother leaves the room. Although the initial implications were intended to explain the response of children when separated from their caregivers, research has proven its application to adult relationships, showing patterns of behavior based on attachment theory terminology. This paper explores the different aspects in which attachment theory is applied in adult relationships, such as finding a partner, predictability, and evolutionary purpose of caring for offspring.

The formation of attachment begins at birth with the child forming some type or form of attachment with their parents or primary caregiver. Hopefully, the child is able to form a proper or secure attachment with their parent or primary caregivers because the attachment formed between the parents or primary caregiver acts the foundation for how well the child will be able to form attachments with others outside the immediate family (Gullone, Ollendick, King,2006).This is because the type or level of attachment the child was able to form with his or her parent generally predicts the type or level of attachment the child will form with others outside their intermediate family. However, as the individual interacts with the outside world more and

Attachment is the beginning of development for a healthy family system. Attachment or bonds are started very young they start with the parent and the child then it expands outward overdevelopment. There are four types of attachment styles avoidant, secure, ambivalent, and disorganized-disoriented. An attachment is a special bond and is usually positive between the child and usually the parents (Feldman, 2014, p.182). Out of the four attachments, secure attachment plays the most important in a healthy development of a child. Secure attachment is when a child and the caregiver such as the mother gives a secure foundation which the child feels like he/ she can explore the world around

The definition of attachment involves an affectional bond that infants need to form with a differentiated and preferred individual that becomes an attachment figure, consisting in a sustained nurturing relationship with the sensitive caregiver (Bowlbly, 1979). Attachment is conceptualized as an evolutionary feature: individuals can create a secure base around which one is able to explore and gain independence as well as a safe haven to which individuals can return and be reassured in a situation of distress or danger (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969). On the contrary, unresponsive or atypical ways of parenting can lead to aberrant behaviours or, if others risk factors are present, to psychopathology (Jacobsen, Edelstein, Hoffman, 1994; Schaffer, 1996). Secure attachment with the primary caregiver is necessary for social and emotional regulation as well as cognitive and resilience abilities(Bowlby, 1982; Ainsworth & Bell,1970); insecure attachment affects individuals’ life in many aspects, especially the ability to face distress (Macbeth et al., 2011), and not too rarely the aftermaths of an insane attachment can culminate in personality disorders (Crawford et al.,

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

Infant attachment is the bond between an infant and their caregivers. An infant’s early attachment to their primary caregiver (PCG) is often seen as the foundation for all future development (Fairbairn, 1952). Individual difference perspectives have focused greatly on the predictive power of attachment because parents want to raise healthy, well-adjusted, normal children and are often concerned about the extent to which their parental upbringing skills can impact their child’s future. Attachment theory claims that infants are born with the innate ability to form attachments to their primary caregivers (Bowlby, 1969). Ainsworth and Bell (1970) developed the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to determine the different attachment styles between mothers and their young children, which are secure, insecure avoidant, and insecure resistant. Hazen & Shaver (1987) applied attachment theory to adult relationships to show the predictive power of attachment. Infant attachment is translated into the romantic relationship style. This shows the consequences of attachment as all future relationships can be determined by the infant’s bond with their parents. However, attachment theory and the SSP may not be universally applicable, as child-rearing practices vary widely across cultures. Some children are raised by multiple caregivers, some are often left alone and others are never separated from their attachment figure. This suggests that secure attachments are culturally dependent. This

New research does show that even though the primary attachments develops during infancy as a person grow the types of attachments could be altered with new types of attachments due to positive or negative life events. Secure attachment used to be the most common type of attachment among early people but with the new generation studies shows a decline in it and a small growth in avoidant and resistant attachment

An infant with a secure attachment style has a natural bond with their parent, where they are able to trust them, at the same time leaving their side to discover and explore their surroundings. In an insecure/resistant attachment the relationship the child has with their mother or caregiver is very clingy, thus making them very upset once the caregiver is away. When the mother or caregiver is back they are not easily comforted and resist their effort in comforting them. In an insecure/avoidant attachment the infant is, “indifferent and seems to avoid the mother, they are as easily comforted by a stranger, as by their parent” (Siegler 2011, p.429). Lastly, the disorganized/disoriented attachment is another insecure attachment style in which the infant has no way of coping with stress making their behavior confusing or contradictory. Through these brief descriptions of the attachment theory, many researchers have defined the turning point in which each attachment definition can have an influence on one’s self esteem, well-being and their marital relationship.

As humans, building relationships between others is a form of connecting and communicating. It is a social situation that is experienced every day through the course of a lifetime. The initial relationship that is made is between the mother and the child. This bond that connects two people is known to be called attachment. The theory of attachment begins at birth, and from that, continuing on to other relationships in family, friends, and romance. Attachment is taught through social experiences, however the relationship with the mother and her temperament are the key factors in shaping the infants attachment type, which

Love is an array of feelings and attitudes that range from interpersonal affection to pleasure. Love consists of different types of attachments. Attachment is a close, enduring emotional bond that finds its roots in infancy. It has been proven that romantic love and infant – caregiver attachment have similar emotional dynamics. Usually when you love someone you feel this sort of attachment and defensiveness for them. You care for them, want them to be safe and want them to feel loved. There are three different major types of attachment; secure attachment, anxious/ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment. Throughout this paper I will be explaining the different types of attachment and how an individual’s life experiences may result in