Discuss the relationship between childhood attachment and adult personality
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Methods have been devised for studying adult attachment. One study observed the behavior of adults as they separated at an airport in a situation similar to a condition in the “strange situation” procedure used to study attachment in children. Women who report experiencing attachment anxiety as children also report more distress when facing a separation. Women with attachment avoidance issues demonstrate avoidance of partners and less contact. Men with attachment anxiety showed less contact with partners. A study of separation suggests that there is a clear relationship between childhood and adult attachment experiences. People who report having secure attachment as children scored lower on scales of anxiety and reported more social coping strategies like using friends for support and a safe haven when dealing with a breakup than participants who reported having anxious or avoidant attachment experiences as children. Individuals who remember having anxious attachment experiences as children have the hardest time with adult separations, reporting more stress, preoccupation with their lose and interference with exploration.
In general there is great deal of evidence to support the hypothesis that these childhood attachment experiences have a direct, causal relationship with adult personality and relationships.
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