Attachment Style

Here we are going to look at the manners in which different attachment styles work towards the construction of human relations.

Attachment styles is a concept that has originated from the theory of attachment put forward by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and determines the nature of interaction with people throughout life. These styles are the sections of behavior and emotional coping that may be derived from the basic care-giving interactions and govern the ability of an adult to establish and maintain intimate relationships.

There are four primary attachment styles: Such as secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganized. Ambivalent and avoidant individuals feel insecure about their relationships and do not have emotionally healthy and secure base for their contacts. It may be said that during the period of their early years, their caregivers were accessible and sensitive to the child’s need for security.

Anxious attachment is formed where the child’s caretakers do not respond appropriately or unpredictably to the child’s clinginess. They usually have a desire for attachment but the need for rejection, they engage in things such as; persistently seeking comfort or becoming clingy. On the other hand, there is avoidant attachment that forms when parent are cold and indifferent or even rejecting hence, people freeze their needs for affection to prevent being rejected.

Attaching disorder characterized by inconsistent caregiving, most often due to trauma or abuse, can be seen as ambivalent – a child may desperately seek contact while simultaneously being anxious about it. Such people may have difficulties with trusting and can have rather disordered relationships.

Knowledge of attachment styles should be of benefit toward enhancing relations. For example, people with insecure attachment can cultivate self-reflection and manage anxiety about rejection or overdependence. There are EFT or other cognitive behavioral techniques for enabling relabeling of attachment histories and changing of more adaptive ways of relating.

Thus, understanding the principles of attachment and owning up to one’s own attachment pattern and its roots may help hatch better relationships and improve working and personal lives, too.