Attachement

• bowlby, 1980 


  insecure attachments predispose individuals to difficulties managing emotions such as stress and sadness which in turn leads to vulnerability to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression
• sroufe et al, 2005


  Secure attachments provide a secure base for individuals to explore the world and learn to regulate their emotions
• Ainsworth et al, 1978

  secure attachments foster trust, empathy and effective communication skills while insecure attachments have difficulties forming and maintaining social bonds
• Wei et al, 2005


  Those with anxious attachment often struggle with self-doubt, jealousy and dependency issues whilst those with avoidant attachment have issues expressing their emotions and forming close bonds with others 
• Bartholomew and Horowitz, 1991

  Attachment styles such as secure, anxious and avoidant are developed through early caregiver interactions 
• Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007

  securely attached individuals tend to have higher self-esteem, better emotional regulation and healthier relationships 
• Bretherton and Munholland, 1998


  Secure attachment allow for cognitive exploration and the gaining of knowledge however insecure attachments may limit cognitive growth as attention goes towards managing attachment related stressors
• Fraley and Roisman, 2019


  The theory has been criticised for primarily focusing on early childhood experiences and the relationship between caregiver and infant as this means the theory overlooks the significance of later experiences and other factors
• cassidy and shaver, 2016


  psychologists have criticised the theory’s focus on the individual differences in attachment styles as an oversimplification and argued that it fails to account for cultural variation attachment
• crittenden, 2008


  attachment theory has been argued to be deterministic as it overlooks the potential for individuals to change over time
• Fraley, 2022


  Another criticism against attachment theory is the fact that much of its research is reliant on retrospective self-report data as participants are often asked to recount their upbringing and childhood which they may not always remember correctly which can lead to inaccuracy