Developmental psychology
Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on the importance of open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation protocol and the concept of the secure base.
Attachment and Health
In the late 1980s Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver applied attachment theory to adult romantic relationships based on observations of the interactions between adult romantic partners.☃☃ They noticed that romantic partners often prefer to be physically close, become anxious when they are separated and that stressful situations can be buffered by the presence of a romantic partner. Three main methods of measuring adult attachment have been developed (see attachment measures), with slightly different purposes and variable amounts of concordance between them. Some aim to categorize attachment style while others rate degrees of attachment anxiety and avoidance.