Attachment Styles
Attachment theory, originated by John Bowlby (1969) and expanded through Mary Ainsworth's research, describes four patterns of emotional bonding. As Amir Levine and Rachel Heller describe in Attached, these patterns shape how adults approach intimacy, respond to conflict, and experience connection.
Secure
Secure attachment, as described by Bowlby (1969) and classified by Ainsworth et al. (1978), is characterized by comfort with intimacy and interdepende...
Anxious-Preoccupied
Anxious-preoccupied attachment, identified in Ainsworth's Strange Situation research (1978) and elaborated by Hazan and Shaver (1987) for adult relati...
Dismissive-Avoidant
Dismissive-avoidant attachment, described in Bartholomew and Horowitz's (1991) four-category model and popularized by Levine and Heller (2010), is cha...
Fearful-Avoidant
Fearful-avoidant attachment (also termed disorganized attachment) was identified by Main and Solomon (1986) in infant research and elaborated by Barth...