ATTACHMENT, SECURE AND INSECURE

Based on a child’s early experiences with their caregivers, young children begin to develop what has been termed “internal working models” of the self and others.  New information is assimilated into these belief systems.  These internal working models or belief systems can be “powerfully self-perpetuating.”

Research has found that children who were secure in infancy interact with peers and with teachers in more appropriate ways than children who were not secure in infancy.  These children anticipate that their needs will be met and interact in ways that confirm these expectations.

Children without secure attachment organization may employ one of two principal strategies to reduce the anxiety engendered with the perception of an unavailable caregiver.  Some children develop avoidant strategies in which they push away negative emotion.  Others become hypervigilant, appearing angry and preoccupied with the failings of their caregivers.

A secure attachment organization allows one to attend flexibly and nondefensively to the interpersonal world.  The adult with an insecure attachment has not internalized the idea that he or she  is loved and loveable.  Insecure status leads the individual to interact in overly distancing or demanding ways which in turn push others away.  Thus, the adult with an insecure attachment, is less likely to experience relationships as rewarding and comforting.  

Adult attachment researchers typically define 4 prototypic attachment styles derived from two underlying dimensions.  The first dimension called anxiety has to do with the degree to which individuals worry about being rejected, abandoned or unloved by significant others.  The second dimension labeled avoidance has to do with  the degree these individuals limit intimacy and interdependence with others.

Secure individuals are low in both anxiety and avoidance.  They feel they are valued by others and are confident in pursing relationships and depending on others when they need to.

Preoccupied individuals are high in anxiety but low in avoidance. They have an intense need for closeness but lack confidence in others availability.  They are greatly dependent on others for approval.

Fearful-avoidant individuals are high in both anxiety and avoidance.  These people want close relationships but are overly afraid of rejection which contributes to approach-avoidance behavior.

Dismissive-avoidant individuals are low in anxiety but high in avoidance.  They perceive attachment figures as unreliable and unresponsive . They maintain a positive image of themselves by distancing themselves from others and limiting the expression of emotion.

The regulation of ‘felt security’ has been conceptualized as a central component of attachment. When a child feels distress and is securely attached, he or she will make contact with the caregiver. When a child has learned  to expect only selective responses from their primary caregiver, they develop defensive strategies to manage emotions. This would be either deactivation or hyperactivation.

Deactivation involves attempts to suppress emotions and is characteristic of avoidant attachment.

Hyperactivation, involves exaggeration of attachment behaviors and emotions and is characteristic of preoccupied attachment. The child feels that they have to work hard to get their caregiver’s attention

Last modified: 05/09/06