19/03/2024
Attachment Theory: 4 Types & Characteristics
Dismissive-Avoidant (Referred to as ‘Avoidant’)
Someone who has adopted a dismissive-avoidant style perpetuates a sense of defectiveness and uncertainty in their relationships. They typically show the following characteristics:
• Appear withdrawn
• Emotionally distant in relationships
• Unlikely to connect at an intimate level
• Highly independent
• Find close involvement with their partners difficult
• Feel overwhelmed when heavily relied upon
As a result, the individual may retreat from the relationship physically and emotionally.
Fearful-Avoidant (Referred to as ‘Disorganized’ or “Vacillator”)
An individual who experienced an untrusting relationship with caregivers (they may have been addicts or emotionally unwell) during childhood may be fearful-avoidant across all adult relationships (romantic and otherwise). They typically:
• Feel unworthy
• Are ambivalent in relationships
• Regularly shift between being distant and vulnerable
• Over-analyze micro expressions, such as body language, to look for betrayal
• Fail to trust naturally
• Feel betrayal is always just around the corner
Anxious Attachment (Referred to as “Insecure” Attachment)
Anxious attachment also results from inconsistency during childhood, often the result of absenteeism from caregivers. They typically:
• Are high sacrificing people-pleasers
• Fear rejection
• Have a heightened fear of being abandoned
• Overcompensate in adult relationships
• Sacrifice their own needs to maintain relationships
The individual most likely lacked consistent and predictable caregiving as a child, leaving them expecting to be rejected.
Secure Attachment
Individuals with a secure attachment style often have experienced available and supportive parents. They typically:
• Feel secure in relationships
• Are supportive, open, and available in their relationships
• Have the potential to shift individuals in other attachment styles to a more secure one
Those with a secure attachment style “were taught you can be safe while being vulnerable and that their needs were worthy of being met.”
Developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth in the 1960s, attachment theory recognizes the importance of the child’s dependence on their caregiver (Bowlby, 1988). Such an early relationship can lead to four different attachment styles with corresponding underlying characteristics.
