Four Types of Attachment

As we go through the stages of emotional development we learn how to interact with our parents and other members of our social community. We start to learn attachment as we interact with our parents and others. There are four different types of attachment which are referred to as A, B, C, and D. Each attachment type displays the child's behavior during certain situations. Each level of attachment is an important part for us to begin learning how to build relationships for our future.

Attachment type A also called insecure-avoidant attachment is "A pattern in which an infant avoids connection with the mother, as when the infant seems not to care about the mother's presence, departure, or return" (Berger, 2014, p. 144). Children in this pattern often show no acknowledgement of the parent. They tend to be content in playing alone with their toys. The child will continue to perform as they were even as the mother leaves the child's side to another area where the child can not see them. When the mom returns to the room the child once again neglects to even acknowledge their presence.

The insecure-avoidant attachment type reveals that infants in this category tend to be "characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference" (Berger, 2014, p. 144). Increased paternal stress, parents who are extremely controlling and invasive, as well as father's who have an alcohol addiction all predict that a child will have an insecure-avoidant attachment issue (Berger, 2014, p. 146). An infant who displays this behavior could be affected later in life in several different ways. Children of this type could potentially do poorly in their education endeavors. They could very well become belligerent and unsympathetic to others as well as frightened, anxious adults.

Type B which is also called secure attachment is defined as the "relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver" (Berger, 2014, p. 143). The...