Secure attachment

Painting of parents outdoors with two young children, with an older woman in black in the background
Painting by Marcus Stone of children in a close relationship with both parents

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.[1] Children with secure attachment feel protected by their caregivers, and they know that they can depend on them to return. 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. 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.[2]

  1. ^ Ainsworth, Mary S. (1979). "Infant–mother attachment". American Psychologist. 34 (10): 932–937. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.932. PMID 517843.
  2. ^ Reisz, S., Duschinsky, R., and Siegel, D.J. (2017). Disorganized attachment and defense: Exploring John Bowlby's unpublished reflections. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616734.2017.1380055