The Different Types of Attachment

Styles
By Kendra Cherry Updated on June 03, 2020

Medically reviewed by David Susman, PhD

Attachment styles are characterized by different ways of interacting and behaving in relationships. During
early childhood, these attachment styles are centered on how children and parents interact.

In adulthood, attachment styles are used to describe patterns of attachment in romantic relationships. The
concept of attachment styles grew out the attachment theory and research that emerged throughout the
1960s and 1970s. Today, psychologists typically recognize four main attachment styles.

The 4 Styles of Attachment

Illustration by Jessica Olah, Verywell

What Is Attachment?
Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure.
The roots of research on attachment began with Freud's theories about love, but another researcher is
usually credited as the father of attachment theory.

John Bowlby devoted extensive research to the concept of attachment, describing it as a "lasting
psychological connectedness between human beings."Bowlby shared the psychoanalytic view that 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
propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals [is] a basic component of human
nature," he explained.

1.
Characteristics of Attachment
Bowlby believed that there are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment:

Proximity maintenance: The desire to be near the people we are attached to.

Safe haven: Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat.
Secure base: The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the
surrounding environment.

Separation distress: Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.

Bowlby also made three key propositions about attachment theory. First, he suggested that when children
are raised with confidence that their primary caregiver will be available to them, they are less likely to
experience fear than those who are raised without such conviction.

Secondly, he believed that this confidence is forged during a critical period of development, during the
years of infancy, childhood, and adolescence. The expectations that are formed during that period tend to
remain relatively unchanged for the rest of the person's life.

Finally, he suggested that these expectations that are formed are directly tied to experience. In other
words, children develop expectations that their caregivers will be responsive to their needs because, in
their experience, their caregivers have been responsive in the past.

Related: Warning Signs of Reactive Attachment Disorder in Children

2.
Ainsworth's Strange Situation Assessment
During the 1970s, psychologist Mary Ainsworth further expanded upon Bowlby's groundbreaking work in
her now-famous "Strange Situation" study.The study involved observing children between the ages of 12
to 18 months responding to a situation in which they were briefly left alone and then reunited with their
mother. Ainsworth's Strange Situation Assessment followed this basic sequence:

1. Parent and child are alone in a room.

2. The child explores the room with parental supervision.

3. A stranger enters the room, talks to the parent, and approaches the child.
4. The parent quietly leaves the room.

5. The parent returns and comforts the child.

Based on these observations, Ainsworth concluded that there were three major styles of attachment:
secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment.

Researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure
attachment.Numerous studies have supported Ainsworth's conclusions and additional research has
revealed that these early attachment styles can help predict behaviors later in life.

3.
 Attachment Through Life
Before you start blaming relationship problems on your parents, it is important to note that attachment
styles formed during early childhood are not necessarily identical to those demonstrated in adult romantic
attachments. A great deal of time has elapsed between infancy and adulthood, so intervening experiences
also play a large role in adult attachment styles.

Those described as ambivalent or avoidant during childhood can become securely attached as adults,
while those with a secure attachment in childhood can show insecure attachment patterns in adulthood.
Basic temperament is also thought to play a partial role in attachment.

So what role might factor such as divorce or parental discord play in the formation of attachment styles? In
one study, Hazan and Shaver found that parental divorce seemed unrelated to attachment style.

Instead, their research indicated that the best predictor of adult attachment style was the perceptions that
people have about the quality of their relationships with their parents as well as their parent's relationship
with each other.

But research in this area does indicate that patterns established in childhood have an important impact on
later relationships. Hazan and Shaver also found varied beliefs about relationships amongst adults with
differing attachment styles.

Securely attached adults tend to believe that romantic love is enduring. Ambivalently attached adults report
falling in love often, while those with avoidant attachment styles describe love as rare and temporary.

While we cannot say that early attachment styles are identical to adult romantic attachment, research has
shown that early attachment styles can help predict patterns of behavior in adulthood.
4.
Secure Attachment Characteristics
Children who are securely attached generally become visibly upset when their caregivers leave and are
happy when their parents return. When frightened, these children will seek comfort from the parent or
caregiver.

Contact initiated by a parent is readily accepted by securely attached children and they greet the return of
a parent with positive behavior. While these children can be comforted to some extent by other people in
the absence of a parent or caregiver, they clearly prefer parents to strangers.

Parents of securely attached children tend to play more with their children. Additionally, these parents react
more quickly to their children's needs and are generally more responsive to their children than the parents
of insecurely attached children.

Studies have shown that securely attached children are more empathetic during later stages of childhood.
These children are also described as less disruptive, less aggressive, and more mature than children with
ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles.

As Children As Adults
Separates from parent Have trusting, lasting relationships
Seeks comfort from parents when Tend to have good self-esteem
frightened Share feelings with partners and friends
Greets return of parents with positive Seek out social support
emotions

Prefers parents to strangers

While forming a secure attachment with caregivers is normal and expected, as Hazan and Shaver have
noted, it doesn't always happen. Researchers have found a number of different factors that contribute to
the development (or lack thereof) of secure attachment, particularly a mother's responsiveness to her
infant's needs during the first year of a child's life.

Mothers who respond inconsistently or who interfere with a child's activities tend to produce infants who
explore less, cry more, and are more anxious. Mothers who consistently reject or ignore their infant's
needs tend to produce children who try to avoid contact.

As adults, those who are securely attached tend to have to trust, long-term relationships. Other key
characteristics of securely attached individuals include having high self-esteem, enjoying intimate
relationships, seeking out social support, and an ability to share feelings with other people.
 In one study, researchers found that women with a secure attachment style had more positive feelings
about their adult romantic relationships than other women with insecure attachment styles.

How many people classify themselves as securely attached? In a classic study by Hazan and Shaver, 56%
of respondents identified themselves as secure, while 25% identified as avoidant, and 19 percent as
ambivalent/anxious.

5.
Ambivalent Attachment Characteristics
Children who are ambivalently attached tend to be extremely suspicious of strangers. These children
display considerable distress when separated from a parent or caregiver, but do not seem reassured or
comforted by the return of the parent. In some cases, the child might passively reject the parent by refusing
comfort, or may openly display direct aggression toward the parent.

According to Cassidy and Berlin, ambivalent attachment is relatively uncommon, with only 7 to 15 percent
of infants in the United States displaying this attachment style.In a review of ambivalent attachment
literature, Cassidy and Berlin also found that observational research consistently links ambivalent insecure
attachment to low maternal availability. As these children grow older, teachers often describe them as
clingy and over-dependent.

As Children As Adults
May be wary of strangers Reluctant to become close to others

Become greatly distressed when Worry that their partner does not love
parents leave them
Do not appear comforted when parents Become very distraught when
return relationships end

As adults, those with an ambivalent attachment style often feel reluctant about becoming close to others
and worry that their partner does not reciprocate their feelings. This leads to frequent breakups, often
because the relationship feels cold and distant.

These individuals feel especially distraught after the end of a relationship. Cassidy and Berlin described
another pathological pattern where ambivalently attached adults cling to young children as a source of
security.

6.
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.

As Children As Adults
May avoid parents May have problems with intimacy

Do not seek much contact or comfort Invest little emotion in social and
from parents romantic relationships

Show little or no preference for parents Unwilling or unable to share thoughts or

over strangers feelings with others

As adults, those with an avoidant attachment tend to have difficulty with intimacy and close relationships.
These individuals do not invest much emotion in relationships and experience little distress when a
relationship ends.

They often avoid intimacy by using excuses (such as long work hours) or may fantasize about other people
during sex. Research has also shown that adults with an avoidant attachment style are more accepting
and likely to engage in casual sex. Other common characteristics include a failure to support partners
during stressful times and an inability to share feelings, thoughts, and emotions with partners.

7.
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. These
children are described as displaying dazed behavior, sometimes seeming either confused or apprehensive
in the presence of a caregiver.

At Age 1 At Age 6
Show a mixture of avoidant and May take on a parental role
resistant behavior Some children may act as a caregiver
May seem dazed, confused, or toward the parent
apprehensive

Main and Solomon proposed that inconsistent behavior on the part of parents might be a contributing
factor in this style of attachment.In later research, Main and Hesse argued that parents who act as figures
of both fear and reassurance to a child contribute to a disorganized attachment style. Because the child
feels both comforted and frightened by the parent, confusion results.

A Word From Verywell

While adult romantic attachments may not exactly correspond with early childhood attachments, there is no
question that our earliest relationships with caregivers play a role in development. By better understanding
the role of attachment, you can gain a greater appreciation of how the earliest attachments in your life may
impact adult relationships.
10 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.
Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and
trustworthy.

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Additional Reading

Bowlby, J. A Secure Base: Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory. London: Routledge; 2012.

Salter, MD, Ainsworth, MC, Blehar, EW, & Wall, SN. Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the
Strange Situation. New York: Taylor & Francis; 2015.