Stressment Styles In Interpersonal Relationships

Throughout our history, researchers have studied various behaviors, emotions, and expectations among women and men in intimate relationships. These behaviors, emotions, and expectations were characterized into several different attachment styles. What is an attachment style? An attachment style is identified by how individuals create a short or long-term interpersonal relationship. These attachment styles were originally identified in the attachments a mother and child create during child rearing. Luckily, these attachment styles continue to develop in adults who seek intimate relationships. One theorist by the name of Kim Bartholomew introduced a model that contained four different attachment styles in 1990. Initially, the first

The preoccupied style of attachment occurs when individuals seek emotionally close intimate relationships. They value close intimate relationships and will do anything in their power to make their relationships as close as possible. They have little self-worth and depend on their partners for approval which ultimately makes them feel better about themselves. If there is a lack of closeness in their relationship they become anxious and are filled with thoughts of rejection along with their value in the relationship. Thus, making them in a sense a partner who is constantly preoccupied or worries about their relationship is going. They could be seen as a partner who smothers their lover over the fear of

The first theme is the differences in the avoidance of intimacy. Some individuals seek intimacy while others have varying degrees of avoidance when it comes to intimacy. Those who seek intimacy are interdependent. They have high self-worth, trust their partners, have low degrees of avoidance and are comfortable in their relationships. Those who have a lower self-worth and trust issues, tend to have higher degrees of avoidance. The second theme identified in the four attachment styles is different degrees of anxiety over abandonment. The individual with the secure detachment style does not worry about trust issues and is completely comfortable in their relationship. These securities allow them to see interdependency in their relationships. While preoccupied, fearful and dismissive attachment styles are anxious, fearful of rejection and are uncomfortable with closeness. We also see that fearful attachment styles contain or exhibit characteristics from both themes, having fears of avoidance and anxiety. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider the fact that an individual can share characteristics from more than one