Avoidant attachment: Symptoms, signs, causes, and more

Avoidant attachment develops when an infant or young child has a parent or caregiver who is consistently emotionally unavailable or unresponsive ... HealthConditionsHealthConditionsAlzheimer's&DementiaAnxietyArthritisAsthma&AllergiesBreastCancerCancerCardiovascularHealthCOVID-19Dermatology&SkincareDiabetesEnvironment&SustainabilityExercise&FitnessEyeHealthHeadache&MigraineHealthEquityHIV&AIDSHumanBiologyInflammatoryBowelDiseaseLeukemiaLGBTQIA+Men'sHealthMentalHealthMultipleSclerosis(MS)NutritionParkinson'sDiseasePsoriasisSexualHealthWomen'sHealthDiscoverNewsLatestNewsOriginalSeriesMedicalMythsHonestNutritionThroughMyEyesNewNormalHealthPodcastsWhatisbehindvaccinehesitancy?TheamazingstoryofhepatitisC,fromdiscoverytocureNewdirectionsindementiaresearchCanpsychedelicsrewireadepressed,anxiousbrain?WhyclimatechangemattersforhumanhealthWhatdoesthelatestresearchsayaboutmultiplesclerosis?ToolsGeneralHealthDrugsA-ZHealthHubsHealthToolsBMICalculatorsandChartsBloodPressureChart:RangesandGuideBreastCancer:Self-ExaminationGuideSleepCalculatorHealthProductsAffordableTherapyOptionsBloodPressureMonitorsDiabeticSuppliesFitnessTrackersHomeGymsGreenCleaningProductsHowtoShopforCBDQuizzesRAMythsvsFactsType2Diabetes:ManagingBloodSugarAnkylosingSpondylitisPain:FactorFictionConnectAboutMedicalNewsTodayWhoWeAreOurEditorialProcessContentIntegrityConsciousLanguageNewslettersSignUpFollowUsMedicalNewsTodayHealthConditionsDiscoverToolsConnectSubscribeWhatisavoidantattachment?MedicallyreviewedbyTiffanyTaft,PsyD—ByAnnaSmithonNovember11,2020Whatisit?CausesSignsandsymptomsPreventionTreatmentSummaryAvoidantattachmentisanattachmentstylethatdevelopsduringearlychildhood.Ittendstooccurinchildrenwhodonotexperiencesensitiveresponsestotheirneedsordistress.Childrenwithanavoidantattachmentstylemaybecomeveryindependent,bothphysicallyandemotionally.Anattachmentstyleisthepatternofbehaviorsapersonexhibitsinresponsetorelationshipsandbonds.Attachmentstylesarepartofattachmenttheoryinpsychology,whichJohnBowlbyandMaryAinsworthdeveloped.Developinganavoidantattachmentstyleasachildcanleadtodifficultiesformingcloserelationshipsasanadult.Thisarticlecoverswhatavoidantattachmentisanditscausesandtreatmentoptions.Whatisit?ShareonPinterestImagecredit:laflor/GettyImagesAvoidantattachmentisoneofthreeattachmentstylesthatMaryAinsworthandBarbaraWittigdevelopedin1970.MaryMainandJudithSolomonaddedthefourthattachmentstylein1990.Thefourattachmentstylesare:SecureSecureattachmentdevelopsinchildrenwithaparentorcaregiverwhoissensitiveandresponsivetotheirneeds.Securelyattachedchildrenhaveconfidencethataparentorcaregiverwillbeavailabletomeettheirneedsandgivethemcomfortwhentheyaredistressed.Avoidant,orinsecure-avoidantAvoidantattachmentdevelopsinchildrenwhodonotexperiencesensitiveresponsesfromaparentorcaregivertotheirneedsordistress.Childrenwithavoidantattachmentmaybecomeveryindependent,bothphysicallyandemotionally.Anxious,orinsecure-anxiousChildrenwithanxiousattachmentdonothaveconsistentresponsestotheirneedsfromaparentorcaregiver.Childrenwithanxiousattachmentmaybeclingyaroundtheircaregiverwhileinsecureinthemselvesorintheirinteractionswithothers.Disorganized,orfearfulDisorganizedattachmentoccurswhenachildwantsloveandcarefromtheirparentorcaregiverbutisalsoafraidofthem.Disorganizedattachmentcandevelopifaparentorcaregiverrespondstoachildseekingcomfortbyignoring,yellingat,orpunishingtheminsomeway.StrangesituationprocedureInthe1970s,MaryAinsworthdidanexperimentcalledthe“strangesituationprocedure.”Inthisexperiment,parentsorcaregiverslefttheroomastheirchildplayedwithatrainedobservernearby.Theresearchersobservedanddocumentedthechild’sresponsetotheirparentorcaregiverleavingtheroom.Childrenwithasecureattachmentstylewouldcrywhentheirparentorcaregiverlefttheroombutgotothemandquicklybecomesoothedontheirreturn.Childrenwithanavoidantattachmentstylewouldbecalmwhentheirparentorcaregiverlefttheroom.Oncetheyreturned,thechildwouldavoidorresisthavingcontactwiththem.However,despitetheseobservablereactions,otherpsychologicaltestsshowedthatthechildrenwithavoidantattachmentwerejustasdistressedastheotherchildrenbytheirparent’sorcaregiver’sabsence.CausesInfantsandchildrengenerallyneedtoformaclosebondwiththeirparentorcaregiver.Therepeatedrejectionofattemptstoformthissecureattachmentmayresultinachildlearningtosuppresstheirdesireforcomfortwhendistressedorupset.Avoidantattachmentdevelopswhenaninfantoryoungchildhasaparentorcaregiverwhoisconsistentlyemotionallyunavailableorunresponsivetotheirneeds.Infantswithanavoidantattachmentstylemayalsohavefacedrepeateddiscouragementfromcryingorexpressingoutwardemotion.Theparentorcaregiverofachildwhohasavoidantattachmentmay:lackknowledgeonhowtosupporttheirchildlackempathyfeeloverwhelmedbyparentingresponsibilitiesnothavedevelopedasenseofcommitmenthaveanavoidantattachmentstylethemselvesChildrenwithavoidantattachmentmayalsodisconnectfromtheirownneedsandfeelings.Thesechildrenmaylearntoself-sootheandfeelasthoughtheycanonlyrelyonthemselves.Asaresult,theyhavelittlemotivationortrusttoseekhelporsupportfromothers.SignsandsymptomsAchildwithanavoidantattachmentstylemayshownooutwarddisplayofdesireforcloseness,affection,orlove.However,internally,thechildwillfeelthesamestressandanxietyresponsesasachildwithsecureattachmentwhentheyareinstressfulsituations.Thesechildrenmayalsowanttobeneartheirprimarycaregiverbutnotinteractwiththem.Theymayalsorejectphysicalcontactwiththeircaregiver.Attachmentstylesandtheirassociatedbehaviorscanlastintoadulthood.Asanadult,apersonwithanavoidantattachmentstylemayexperiencethefollowing:avoidingemotionalclosenessinrelationshipsfeelingasthoughtheirpartnersarebeingclingywhentheysimplywanttogetemotionallycloserwithdrawingandcopingwithdifficultsituationsalonesuppressingemotionsavoidingcomplaining,preferringtosulkorhintatwhatiswrongsuppressingnegativememorieswithdrawing,ortuningout,fromunpleasantconversationsorsightsfearingrejectionhavingastrongsenseofindependencehavingfeelingsofhighself-esteemwhilehavinganegativeviewofothersbeingoverlyfocusedontheirownneedsandcomfortsAvoidantattachmentcanalsoaffectolderadults.AstudyfromHongKongfoundthatinoldermarriedcouples,amalepartnerwithanavoidantattachmentstyleexperiencedmoredetrimentaleffectsontheirwell-beingthanafemalepartner.Learnmoreaboutattachmentdisordersinadultshere.PreventionAparentorcaregivercanpreventtheirchildfromdevelopinganavoidantattachmentstylebybeingsensitivetotheirneedsandfeelingswhileencouragingthemtoexpresstheirwantsandemotions.Itisalsoimportantforapersontolettheirchildknowthattheyaresafeandcaredforthroughbothactionsandwords.Aparentorcaregivershouldalsobemindfultoavoidmakingtheirchildfeelashamediftheymakeamistakeorareafraid.Instead,theyshouldsootheandcomforttheirchildasoftenaspossiblewhentheyaredistressedorscared.Ifaparentorcaregiverfindsthattheyarestrugglingwithparentingandsuspectsthattheymaynotconsistentlybemeetingtheemotionalneedsoftheirchild,theyshouldseekhelpfromamentalhealthprofessionalwhospecializesinworkingwithpeoplewiththeseissues.Anyonewithconcernsabouthowtheirchildisdeveloping,includingtheirattachmentstyle,mayalsofindspeakingwithapediatricianorchildpsychologisthelpful.TreatmentTherapyorcounselingcanbebeneficialforbothachildwithanavoidantattachmentstyleandtheirparentorcaregiver.Atherapistcanhelptheparentorcaregiverunderstandhowtheirbehaviormaybeaffectingtheirchildandguidethemtowardnewwaysofinteractingwiththechildandrespondingtotheirneeds.Atherapistcanalsoworkwiththechildtohelpthemformahealthierbondwiththeirparentorcaregiver.Anadultwithavoidantattachmentmayalsobenefitfromtherapy.Thetherapistorcounselorcanhelpthepersonunderstandhowtheirparentsorcaregiversrespondedtotheirneedsduringchildhoodandhowthismaybeshapingtheircurrentemotionsorbehavior.Thetherapistcanthensuggestmethodstohelpthepersonovercomeanynegativebehaviorsorfeelings.Learnaboutdifferenttypesoftherapyhere.SummaryAvoidantattachmentisoneoffourattachmentstylesthatdevelopduringchildhood.Avoidantattachmentoccurswhenaninfantorchilddoesnotconsistentlyreceivethecareandattentionthattheyneedtodevelopahealthyrelationshipwiththeirparentorcaregiver.Anavoidantattachmentstylemaycauseachildtohidetheirfeelingsandbecomeemotionallydistantfromtheirparentorcaregiver.However,thechildstilldesirestobeclosetothatpersonandexperiencesinnerdistresswhentheyareapart.Adultswithavoidantattachmentmaystruggletoestablishcloserelationshipsasaresultofbeingveryindependentandunlikelytolooktoothersforsupportorhelp.Apersonwhoisconcernedthattheyortheirchildmayhaveavoidantattachmentshouldspeaktoatherapistordoctor.LastmedicallyreviewedonNovember11,2020MentalHealthPediatrics/Children'sHealthPsychology/PsychiatryParenthood6sourcescollapsedMedicalNewsTodayhasstrictsourcingguidelinesanddrawsonlyfrompeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicaljournalsandassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Welinkprimarysources—includingstudies,scientificreferences,andstatistics—withineacharticleandalsolistthemintheresourcessectionatthebottomofourarticles.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.Cassidy,J.,etal.(2013).ContributionsofattachmenttheoryandResearch:Aframeworkforfutureresearch,translation,andpolicy.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085672/Catlett,J.(n.d.).Avoidantattachment:Understandinginsecureavoidantattachment.https://www.psychalive.org/anxious-avoidant-attachment/Landa,S.,etal.(2013).LettersfromAinsworth:Contestingthe‘organization’ofattachment.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647635/Li,T.,etal.(2013).Howavoidantattachmentinfluencessubjectivewell-being:Aninvestigationabouttheageandgenderdifferences[Abstract].https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13607863.2013.775639McLeod,S.(2018).MaryAinsworth.https://www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.htmlvanRosmalen,L.,etal.(2015).Ainsworth'sStrangeSituationProcedure:Theoriginofaninstrument.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277026014_Ainsworth's_Strange_Situation_Procedure_The_origin_of_an_instrumentFEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbyTiffanyTaft,PsyD—ByAnnaSmithonNovember11,2020LatestnewsDietsworldwideonlyslightlyhealthierthan30yearsagoBalancedmealtimingmaybenefitcognitivehealth,studyshowsExistingheartmedicationmayhelptreatalcoholusedisorderWhyresearcherssayyoushouldstoptakingaspirinifyou’retakingwarfarinAdultswithADHDmaybetwiceaslikelytodevelopcardiovasculardiseasesRelatedCoverageAttachmentdisorderinadults:Whatisit?MedicallyreviewedbyTimothyJ.Legg,PhD,PsyDAttachmentdisordertendstodevelopinchildren,butitcancontinueormanifestintoadulthood.Here,learnabouttreatments,types,andmore.READMOREWhatisreactiveattachmentdisorder?MedicallyreviewedbyAlexanderKlein,PsyDReactiveattachmentdisorder(RAD)isararementalhealthconditionthatmakesitdifficultforpeopletoformrelationships.LearnmoreaboutRADhere.READMOREWhatispassive-aggressivepersonalitydisorder?MedicallyreviewedbyMarneyA.White,PhD,MSPassive-aggressivepersonalitydisorder(PAPD)causespeopletoexpressnegativefeelingsandemotionssubtlyorpassivelyratherthandirectly.Learnmore.READMOREReactiveattachmentdisordertreatmentReactiveattachmentdisordercanoccurasaresultofchildhoodabuse,trauma,orneglect.Learnmoreaboutitssymptomsandtreatmenthere.READMOREWhatisrelationshipanxiety?MedicallyreviewedbyJenniferLitner,LMFT,CSTRelationshipanxietycanaffectdifferentkindsofrelationships.Itisacommonissue,butpersistentorsevereanxietyinarelationshipmayrequiretreatment.READMORE