Final answer:
Contemporary attachment theory views attachment styles along a dimensional spectrum, with the four main styles being secure, dismissing, fearful, and preoccupied. Secure attachment is characterized by a child using the parent as a secure base to explore and seek comfort. Other styles reflect variations in responsiveness to the caregiver and the quality of early caregiving interactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Attachment Styles in Adulthood
Contemporary attachment theory tends to view attachment styles as dimensional, as opposed to strictly typological. This perspective allows for a range of attachment behavior rather than fixed types. However, for the sake of clarity in understanding different patterns, four prototypical attachment styles are commonly identified: secure, dismissing, fearful, and preoccupied. In secure attachment, individuals typically have had caregivers who were sensitive and responsive to their needs. They use their attachment figures as a secure base from which they explore their environment and seek comfort in times of stress, displaying distress when separated but joy upon reunion.
On the other hand, individuals with a dismissing attachment style appear to be unresponsive to their attachment figures and do not use them as a secure base, showing little distress upon separation. Fearful attachment is characterized by a desire for closeness with the attachment figure but a fear of getting too close, while preoccupied attachment involves an intense preoccupation with the attachment figure. Attachment theory posits that these styles are influenced by the quality of care and sensitivity provided by caregivers during childhood.
Researchers such as Ainsworth and Bowlby have laid the groundwork for understanding attachment across the lifespan, noting its continuity and change. They have also acknowledged cross-cultural variations and other contextual factors influencing attachment styles, such as a child's temperament and cultural practices around caregiving.