Understanding Your Attachment Style: A Guide to Relationships and Mental Health

Attachment styles play a crucial role in shaping our relationships and overall mental well-being. This handout will provide you with an overview of attachment theory, the different attachment styles, their impact on relationships and mental health, and recommendations for further exploration.

What are Attachment Styles?

Attachment styles refer to patterns of bonding that people learn as children and carry into their adult relationships. These styles influence how we perceive and deal with emotional intimacy, communicate our needs, respond to conflict, and form expectations about our partners and relationships.

The Four Attachment Styles

1. Secure Attachment

• Comfortable with intimacy and independence

• Able to balance dependence and autonomy in relationships

• Positive view of self and others

1. Anxious-Preoccupied Attachment (Anxious in children)

• Craves intimacy and can be overly dependent

• May be demanding in relationships

• Fears rejection and abandonment

1. Dismissive-Avoidant Attachment (Avoidant in children)

• Values independence highly

• May appear detached or uninterested in close relationships

• Strong sense of self-sufficiency

1. Fearful-Avoidant Attachment (Disorganised in children)

• Desires close relationships but fears vulnerability

• May behave unpredictably due to internal conflict

• Struggles with trusting others

How Attachment Styles Present in Relationships

Secure Attachment

• Comfortable with closeness and independence

• Effective communication of emotions and needs

• Ability to listen and understand partner's needs

• Positive expectations about relationships

• Constructive approach to conflict resolution

Anxious-Preoccupied Attachment

• Intense desire for closeness and intimacy

• Fear of abandonment and rejection

• May appear clingy or demanding

• Hypervigilant to signs of distance or withdrawal

• Tendency to seek constant reassurance

 Dismissive-Avoidant Attachment

• Discomfort with emotional intimacy

• Preference for independence and self-reliance

• May appear emotionally distant or unavailable

• Difficulty expressing feelings or needs

• Tendency to withdraw during conflicts

Fearful-Avoidant Attachment

• Conflicting desires for intimacy and independence

• Fear of both closeness and abandonment

• Unpredictable behaviour in relationships

• Difficulty trusting partners

• May alternate between clingy and distant behaviours

 Impact on Relationships and Mental Health

Positive Impacts

• Secure attachment promotes healthy, stable relationships

• Understanding your attachment style can lead to personal growth

• Awareness of attachment patterns can improve communication

Potential Challenges

• Insecure attachment styles may lead to relationship difficulties

• Anxious and avoidant styles can contribute to emotional distress

• Unresolved attachment issues may impact mental health and self-esteem

Origins of Attachment Theory

Attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby in the 1950s and further expanded by Mary Ainsworth in the 1970s. Bowlby proposed that early childhood experiences with caregivers form the basis for how individuals approach relationships throughout their lives. Ainsworth's research, including the famous "Strange Situation" experiment, helped identify and classify different attachment styles in children.

Attachment Styles in Adulthood

In the late 1980s, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver extended attachment theory to adult romantic relationships. They found that attachment patterns observed in childhood often persist into adulthood, influencing how individuals form and maintain romantic partnerships.

Improving Your Attachment Style

While attachment styles are formed early in life, they are not fixed. With self-awareness and effort, it is possible to develop a more secure attachment style:

1. Recognise your attachment pattern and its impact on your relationships

2. Practice self-reflection and emotional awareness

3. Communicate openly and honestly with partners about your needs and fears

4. Seek professional help, such as attachment-based psychotherapy, if needed

5. Work on building self-esteem and a positive self-image

6. Learn to balance independence and intimacy in relationships

Conclusion

Understanding your attachment style can provide valuable insights into your relationship patterns and emotional responses. By recognising these patterns, you can work towards developing more secure attachments and improving your overall mental health and relationship satisfaction.

Recommended Further Reading 

1. Bowlby, J., 1988. A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.

2. Levine, A. and Heller, R., 2012. Attached: The new science of adult attachment and how it can help you find-and keep-love. New York: Penguin.

3. Johnson, S.M., 2008. Hold me tight: Seven conversations for a lifetime of love. New York: Little, Brown Spark.

4. Siegel, D.J. and Hartzell, M., 2003. Parenting from the inside out: How a deeper self-understanding can help you raise children who thrive. New York: Penguin.

5. Wallin, D.J., 2007. Attachment in psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.

6. Mikulincer, M. and Shaver, P.R., 2007. Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York: Guilford Press.