Definition
Anxious-ambivalent attachment is characterized by inconsistent responding of caregivers and by a child’s experiences of anxiety and preoccupation about their caregiver’s availability, accessibility, and responsiveness during times of distress.
Introduction
History of Attachment Theory
Attachment theory was first fully conceptualized in 1969 by psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, John Bowlby, who proposed that the attachment system functioned to protect infants from harm and increase their likelihood of survival. In this system, infants who felt real or imagined threat would seek the comfort of their primary caregivers to downregulate feelings of distress.
The attachment theory was developed further in 1978 by psychologist Mary Ainsworth, who speculated that individual differences in attachment would emerge from caregiver availability, accessibility, and responsiveness. Ainsworth...
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References
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Chin, K. (2020). Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment Styles. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_2013
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_2013
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