Attachment theory explains how early relationships with parents shape the capacity for intimacy for life. Key concepts and their significance.
Attachment theory is one of the most influential theoretical frameworks in developmental psychology and psychotherapy. It explains not just "how children attach to parents" — but why adults build relationships the way they do.
John Bowlby proposed: humans (and many animals) have an evolutionarily conditioned attachment system — a biologically programmed need for closeness with a protecting adult. This system activates under threat or stress: the child seeks a "secure base."
Mary Ainsworth developed the experimental method ("Strange Situation," 1969) and described types of attachment in children — secure, anxious, avoidant, disorganized.
Childhood attachment patterns transfer to adult relationships — through the "internal working model" (Bowlby). Adult attachment types — secure, anxious, avoidant, disorganized — describe how people build closeness, respond to conflict, tolerate solitude.
An attachment type is not a sentence. Research shows: adult attachment types change through therapeutic relationships, through "corrective emotional experiences" in healthy relationships. This is slow — but possible.
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This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in a crisis situation, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional or a crisis helpline.