A famous psychiatrist known by the name as John Bowlby, noticed attachment styles in infants. This attachment style is present between the infants and his/her caregiver, generally the parents. Attachment style is like the bond shared between the two persons. Ideally, it develops between 6 months and 3 years of age and it forms a base for future relationships. Mary Ainsworth, a psychologist contributed to Bowlby where she divided the attachment styles into two styles; secure attachment and insecure attachment.
Let’s see what they are all about. Secure attachment usually forms when the caregiver is consistent to the infants needs. Normally, they interact constantly with them which results in feeling trustworthy and secure. This helps with the children becoming independent as they grow.
On the other hand, insecure attachment can be either anxious or avoidant. Anxious attachment usually results when the caregiver sometimes responds to the infants needs whilst other times is cold and resists their attention. This can cause confusion for the child as they would not know if the caregiver will attend to their needs or not. They can feel distrusted with the caregiver but at the same time they act desperate for their affection. Moving onto avoidant attachment which can result when the caregiver can be careless and insensitive to their needs such as not showing love and care when the infant is hurt. The child usually starts to ‘take care of himself/herself’ and this leads the child to not ask anything for anyone anymore.
-Danica Cassar