Attachment theory describes the emotional bond between individuals, primarily focusing on the bonds formed between children and caregivers. It emphasizes the role of secure attachments in promoting healthy emotional development and well-being across the lifespan, highlighting different attachment styles and their long-term impacts on behavior. Factors such as quality caregiving and opportunity for attachment significantly influence the development of these bonds.

1. Attachment Theory
Ref- Psychology Today
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2. Introduction
Attachment is an emotional bond with another person.
 John Bowlby described attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.“
 Earliest bonds formed by children (with caregivers) have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life and
Attachment so developed
Serves to keep the infant close to the mother, thus improving the child's chances of survival.
Are innate drive Children are born with and is a product of evolutionary processes
Emerges and are regulated through the process of natural selection,
Are characterized by clear behavioural and motivation patterns.
Nurturance and responsiveness were the primary determinants of attachment.
 Children who maintained proximity to an attachment figure were more likely to
Receive comfort and protection, and
More likely to survive to adulthood.
 Earliest behavioural theories suggested that attachment was simply a learned behaviour and proposed that
attachment was merely the result of the feeding relationship between the child and the caregiver
Because the caregiver feeds the child and provides nourishment, the child becomes attached.

3. Introduction
 Central Theme of Attachment Theory
 Primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's needs allow the child to
develop a sense of security.
 The infant learns that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then
explore the world.
 Ainsworth's "Strange Situation" -study expanded upon Bowlby's original work revealed the
profound effects of attachment on behaviour and described three major styles of attachment:
 Secure attachment,
 Ambivalent-insecure attachment, and
 Avoidant-insecure attachment.
 Disorganized-insecure attachment (Main and Solomon (1986))
 Attachment styles also have an impact on behaviours later in life.
 Harry Harlow’s Maternal Deprivation Studies and social isolation during the 1950s and 1960s also
demonstrated that early attachments were the result of receiving comfort and care from a caregiver rather
than simply the result of being fed.

4. Schaffer and Emerson four distinct phases of attachment
 Pre-Attachment Stage (From birth to 3 months)
Infants do not show any particular attachment to a specific caregiver.
The infant's signals, such as crying and fussing, attract the attention of the caregiver
The baby's positive responses encourage the caregiver to remain close.
 Indiscriminate Attachment(Between 6 weeks of age to 7 months)
Infants begin to show preferences for primary and secondary caregivers.
Infants develop trust that the caregiver will respond to their needs.
Accepts care from others but distinguish between familiar/ unfamiliar responding more positively to the
primary caregiver.
 Discriminate Attachment (from about 7 to 11 months of age)
Show a strong attachment and preference for one specific individual.
They protest when separated from the primary attachment figure (separation anxiety), and begin to
display anxiety around strangers (stranger anxiety).
 Multiple Attachments (Aproximately 9 months of age,)
Begin to form strong emotional bonds with other caregivers beyond the primary attachment
figure like a second parent, older siblings, and grandparents.

5. Factors That Influence Attachment
 Some factors that can influence how and when attachments develop, including:
 Opportunity for attachment: Children who do not have a primary care figure, such as those raised in
orphanages, may fail to develop the sense of trust needed to form an attachment.
 Quality caregiving: When caregivers respond quickly and consistently, children learn that they can
depend on the people who are responsible for their care, which is the essential foundation for
attachment. This is a vital factor.

6. Attachment Styles
Ambivalent attachment (Considered Uncommon):
 These children become very distressed when a parent leaves.
 As a result of poor parental availability, these children cannot depend on their primary caregiver to be there
when they need them.
 Avoidant attachment:
 Tend to avoid parents or caregivers, showing no preference between a caregiver/ stranger.
 Might be a result of abusive or neglectful caregivers.
 Those punished for relying on a caregiver will learn to avoid seeking help in the future.
 Disorganized attachment:
 These children display a confusing mix of behaviour, seeming disoriented, dazed, or confused.
 They may avoid or resist the parent may be linked to inconsistent caregiver behaviour.
 Parents may serve as both a source of comfort and fear, leading to disorganized behaviour.
 Secure attachment(Most common attachment style)
 Can depend on their caregivers show distress when separated but assured of return and joy when reunited.
 When frightened seek comfort / reassurance from caregivers.

7. The Lasting Impact of Early Attachment
 Research suggests that failure to form secure attachments early in life can have a negative impact on
behaviour in later childhood and throughout life
 Attachment problems, possibly due to early abuse, neglect, or trauma may be diagnosed with
oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
 Children adopted after the age of 6 months may have a higher risk of attachment problems.
 Early attachments can have a serious impact on later relationships.
 Adults who were securely attached in childhood tend to have stronger self-esteem, better self reliance
,strong romantic relationships, more independent, perform better in school, have successful social
relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety and the ability to self-disclose to others.

8. Summary
 Attachment theory is "a psychological model attempting to describe the dynamics of long-term and
short-term interpersonal relationships between humans.
 [It specifically addresses] how human beings respond in relationships when hurt, separated from
loved ones, or perceiving a threat."
 Ainsworth found that "children will have different patterns of attachment depending on how they
experienced their early caregiving environment.“ suggesting that infants will only thrive if they are
securely bonded with a parent or primary caregiver, usually a mother.
 Infants and adults who are loved unconditionally feel secure in their own skin and in the world
around them, which gives them the ability to choose a securely attached relationship, too.
 Healthy relationships require a secure emotional connection.
 When you're in a securely attached relationship, your heart and mind actually shift, making compromise and
sacrificial love seem second nature.
 An insecure emotional connection will result in conflict, cyclical arguments and mistrust.

9. Ways to love someone well and build a secure emotional connection
1. Make time for your partner
 Being available and accessible to your partner can help you establish a secure, emotional connection.
 In spite of busy life one need to slow down and make time for your primary relationships.
 Work and life need to be balanced
 2. "Feel" your partner's heart instead of trying to solve their problems
 Loving well requires hearing and feeling your partner's heart and responding appropriately rather than being
"problem-solvers."
 Respond to partner’s fears or struggles and strengthen emotional connection.
 3. Be present
 Loving well requires being all in, all there, all present to your partner focussing on emotional connection.
 Like William Shakespeare said, “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been,
accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”
 Love is your destiny and everyone deserves to find it and embrace it. As Thomas Merton, a writer and
theologian, said, "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone — we find it
with another."