insecure attachment

insecure attachment

in the Strange Situation, one of several patterns of a generally negative parent–child relationship in which the child fails to display confidence when the parent is present, sometimes shows distress when the parent leaves, and reacts to the returning parent by avoidance (see avoidant attachment) or with ambivalence (see ambivalent attachment). See also anxious–avoidant attachment; anxious–resistant attachment; disorganized attachment. Compare secure attachment.