Insecure Attachment: Characteristics And Consequences

Insecure attachment can occur in a child who has felt rejected by his or her parents.

There are several studies that relate insecure attachment to dysfunctional behavior at any stage of life. According to Bowlby (1958), the human baby needs to be close to certain figures that provide everything necessary for its survival until it can fend for itself.

As a result of the baby’s proximity and control over these individuals, the bond of attachment is produced. A person establishes an attachment when, in situations of insecurity, he seeks contact with the figure that determines the best way to protect him.

Attachment Link Creation

How we establish  the attachment bond is regulated throughout life, varying based on the experiences we have. However, the most critical period is childhood, in which beliefs are formed about:

• The self-concept.
• How are our attachment figures.
• What can we expect, or what do we think we deserve, from others?

Pankseep (1998) stated that attachment is regulated by a neurobiological system that would be activated from different sensory systems, the vestibular system (position and balance) and the hypothalamic temperature and hunger sensors.

These systems  favor the reference figure approach while triggering unpleasant responses to separation. This process would be regulated by oxytocin, prolactin and endorphins.

Moriceau and Sullivan (2005) concluded that the connection would be produced by the activation and structural modification of the olfactory bulb. In this way,  the nervous system would adapt to the environment in which the child is. This would be possible due to:

• Postnatal development of  noradrenergic projections from the  locus coeruleus  (McLean and Shipley, 1991).
• Amygdala immaturity  and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (Jakubs, & Sullivan, 2009).

Consequences of insecure attachment

This pattern of attachment will be formed in people whose parents:

• They are not available emotionally.
• They ignored the child’s requests for help.
• They were  unable to meet their children’s needs.
• They established incoherent, chaotic and unstable relationships.

Within this profile, and due to the deficiencies suffered,  the child tries to adapt to this situation. Depending on the tools developed by her, two types of attachment may appear:

1. Avoidant insecure attachment, in which the search for their caregivers will be minimized. The little one learns that he cannot rely on anyone and that he must be self-sufficient.
2. Ambivalent anxious insecure attachment, characterized by the incessant search for the attention of others, as the relationship has become unpredictable and he no longer understands what he should do.

Both types of attachments have consequences, which can be severe, for example:

• Disorders  psychological and personality:  depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline disorder, etc.
• Addiction behaviors.
• Emotional imbalances.
• Negative perfectionism and feeling of ineffectiveness.
• Suicide.
• Between others.

Characteristics of avoidant insecure attachment

• Analytical thinking,  avoiding emotional involvement.
• Apparent  disinterest in relationships  with others.
• Retreat and  tendency to individualism.

• Avoidance of situations that imply a certain degree of intimacy.
• In childhood, it can go unnoticed at school, without academic problems. But  when he reaches adolescence, his school performance can significantly decrease.

• Possible difficulty controlling your aggression. Explosions of rage and anger.
• Possible disorganization in daily life.

Characteristics of ambivalent anxious insecure attachment

• Continuous attempts to get attention, through disruptive behavior or possible emotional blackmail.
• Idealization of others. However, if you feel frustrated for not having seen your needs met, you may  devalue someone you admired.
• Obsessive concern with knowing what others admire, want or need. Especially if they are significant figures.
• Emotional images  of ambivalence  and anxiety.
• Learning or attention control problems.
• Tendency to ignore the needs of others, focusing only on your own.
• Difficulty taking the blame, blaming others. Tendency to distort certain situations.