THE IMPACTS OF SECURE AND INSECURE ATTACHMENTS THROUGHOUT LIFE

ABSTRACT : The relationship between an infant and his/her mother has always been a central point inpsychology. Accordingly, John Bowlby developed the attachment theory along with his first student thencolleague Mary D. Salter Ainsworth. Bowlby’s hypothesis is that during the evolution of the humans, babieswho had a close relationship with their mothers where better at surviving Bowlby suggests that a child formsonly on attachment at the beginning and that the person attached acts as a secure base in the exploration of theworld. The attachment relationship is same kind of prototype for all future social relationships therefore thedisruption of this attachment can have serious results. In the light of this statement this paper will attempt todiscuss the effects od secure and insecure attachments on the psychological development of children and theimportance of these attachments in their adult relationships by using Bowlby’s and Ainsworth studies as well asthe articles written by Ainsworth herself, Sroufe & Waters, and Fonagy.

KEYWORDS:Attachments Styles,Children, Psychological Development, Relationships