Secure attachment is classified by children who show some distress when their caregiver leaves but are able to compose themselves quickly when the caregiver returns. Children with secure attachment feel protected by their caregivers, and they know that they can depend on them to return. A securely attached child can use their parent as a safe base to explore their surroundings and is easily comforted after being separated or when feeling stressed. Secure attachment is an under-explored topic beyond infancy, however some research indicates that attachment security continues to influence relationships, emotional regulation, and psychological well-being throughout adulthood. Infants are born with natural behaviors that help them survive. Attachment behavior allows an infant to draw people near them when they are in need of help or are in distress. Humans' instinct for attachment is a basic adaptation for survival that most mammals share, and when infants and adults feel stresses or are under alert, their attachment system is alerted. Attachment is a specific and focused aspect of the child-caregiver relationship that plays a key role in ensuring the child's sense of safety, security, and protection. It refers to the way a child relies on their primary caregiver as a secure base for exploring the world and, when needed, as a safe haven and source of comfort.
John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth developed a theory known as attachment theory after inadvertently studying children who were patients in a hospital at which they were working. John Bowlby aimed to understand the deep distress infants experience when separated from their parents. He noticed that these infants would make great efforts—such as crying, clinging, and searching—to avoid being separated or to get close to a parent who was missing. Attachment theory explains how the parent-child relationship emerges and provides influence on subsequent behaviors and relationships. Stemming from this theory, there are four main types of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent attachment, avoidant attachment and disorganized attachment.
The four attachment types Ambivalent attachment is defined by children who become very distressed when their caregiver leaves, and they are not able to soothe or compose themselves. These children cannot depend on their caregiver(s) to be there for them. This is a relatively infrequent case with only a small percentage of children in the United States affected. Avoidant attachment is represented by children who avoid their caregiver, showing no distress when the caregiver leaves. These children react similarly to a stranger as do they with their caregiver. This attachment is often associated with abusive situations. Children who are reprimanded for going to their caregiver will stop seeking help in the future. Disorganized attachment is defined by children who have no consistent way to manage their separation from and reunion with the attachment figure. This is the most severe form of insecure attachment, often resulting from traumatic experiences like neglect or psychological, physical, or sexual abuse, and may also be linked to neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities in the child. Sometimes these children appear to be clinically depressed. These children are often present in studies of high-risk samples of severely maltreated babies, but they also appear in other samples. Secure attachment might lead the child to grow up having higher self-esteem as well as better self-reliance. Additionally, these children tend to be more independent and have lower reported instances of anxiety and depression. These children are also able to form better social relationships.
Characteristics
Characteristics of securely attached children Children who are securely attached typically are visibly upset as their caregivers leave, but they are happy upon their return. These children seek comfort from their parent or caregiver when frightened. In an instance when their parent or primary caregiver is not available, these children can be comforted to a degree by others, but they prefer their familiar parent or caregiver. Likewise, when parents with secure attachments reach out to their children, the children welcome the connection. Playing with children is more common when parents and children have a secure attachment. These parents react more quickly to their children's needs and are typically more responsive to a child they are securely attached to than one of insecure attachment. Attachment carries on throughout the growth of the children. Studies support that secure attachments with primary caregivers lead to more mature and less aggressive children than those with avoidant or ambivalent attachment styles. The relationship type infants establish with their primary caregiver can predict the course of their relationships and connections throughout their lives. Children begin to perceive the parenting that they receive as early as 12 months old. Therefore, to create a supportive and secure relationship between parent and child, it is important for parents to be mindful of their actions even in the early ages of their child's life. Children who are securely attached tend to be more empathetic and responsive to others needs as a result of their own parents mirroring that to them. Those who are securely attached have high self-esteem, seek out social connection and support and are able to share their feelings with other people. They also tend to have long-term, trusting relationships. Secure attachment has been shown to act as a buffer to determinants of health among preschoolers, including stress and poverty. One study supports that women with a secure attachment style had more positive feelings with regard to their adult relationships than women with insecure attachment styles. Within an adult romantic relationship, secure attachment can mean both people engage in close, bodily contact, disclose information with one another, share discoveries with each other and feel safe when the other is nearby.
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