Adult attachment style

Adult attachment theory describes characteristic patterns in how people seek, experience, and regulate closeness in intimate relationships. Rooted in John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth's work on infant attachment (1960s-70s) and extended to adults, the four-category model of Kim Bartholomew and Leonard Horowitz (1991) sorts people by their underlying models of self and others into four styles. Our free course traces attachment from its childhood roots through how the styles play out in love, and ends on the most hopeful finding — that attachment can change, and how people move toward security.

A well-researched framework in relationship psychology, grounded in attachment theory and supported by decades of empirical study of close relationships. Adult attachment styles were introduced by Hazan & Shaver (1987), extending Bowlby and Ainsworth's earlier work. (Bowlby & Ainsworth (1960s-70s); four-category adult model by Bartholomew & Horowitz (1991))

Groups

• Secure — Comfortable with both intimacy and autonomy, trusting closeness while holding a positive view of self and others.
• Anxious-Preoccupied — Craves closeness and approval while fearing abandonment, holding a positive view of others but an insecure view of self.
• Dismissive-Avoidant — Values independence and self-reliance and downplays intimacy, holding a positive view of self but a more negative view of others.
• Fearful-Avoidant / Disorganized — Simultaneously wants and fears closeness, feeling conflicted because of a negative view of both self and others.

References

• Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books
• Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
• Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
• Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Related topics

• How quickly you open up
• How you handle conflict with loved ones
• What helps you feel secure
• Attachment dimensions (ECR)
• Parent & peer attachment (IPPA)

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