Hi, it's Sam here.
So lately, the topic of attachment in child development has garnered a lot of attention.
And if you're not familiar with this concept,
Attachment is something that developmental psychologist John Bulby described as,
the human need to form a strong bond to your caregiver during the first years of life.
Understanding our attachment patterns can shed light on relationship patterns and help us to heal from disruptions in the safety and security of our early childhood relationships.
Because when we know the cause of something we want to change, it's much easier to change it.
Our attachment style reflects the security or insecurity of our primary bonds in early childhood.
And that affects our ability to bond in adult relationships,
both in friendships and romantic partnerships.
And it heavily influences our ability to regulate stress and maintain physical health.
For example, if a caregiver left suddenly in our childhood,
we may fear that our romantic partner will leave us too.
And that can lead to trust issues.
Any discussion of attachment begins with what became known as the Strange Situation Experiment.
And this experiment was designed by researcher Mary Ainsworth,
who temporarily separated one-year-olds from their caregiver and placed them in a room with a stranger to observe their reactions.
Ainsworth identified four main attachment styles based on how the child behaved.
Those styles are known as secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized attachment.
So let's take a moment to unpack each one.