Attachment Theory

Attachment theory was created by John Bowlby. It offered a set of principles that organized aspects of relationships. His theory focused on parent-child relationships and that attachment processes operate across the life span within the context of close adult relationships. Caregiving, sex, and attachment are concluded to be linked biological processes which are three systems that work together to help adults achieve felt security. Overall attachment theory could be considered a guiding force in understanding human relationships but it is not without faults. The theory is so broad and comprehensive and much of the criticism directed at it is reliant on self-reports.

I think attachment theory is a useful tool in studying relationships beyond parent-child ones. I think people develop and grow through relationships throughout their entire lives. Studying the ways in which we yield security from our relationships is a very interesting topic. Because Bowlby's attachment theory begins to address this, it has great substance beyond its definition of the parent-relationship.

Attachment theory as an organizing framework