ABSTRACT
Infants are pre-programmed to seek proximity to an attachment figure, usually a parent or significant adult, who supplies comfort and protection from danger in times of distress, illness and fatigue. Attachment behaviours are inborn behaviours that serve a function in establishing the attachment relationship. After the attachment relationship has developed, separation from the attachment figure arouses the child's attachment system. Attachment behaviours tend to be activated particularly at times of illness or stress in adult life. The attachment system is described by Schore, Fonagy and others as a 'biosocial co-regulatory system'. The mechanism is 'co-regulation' because child and caregiver are found to regulate each other's hormones and behaviour. Attachment theorists consider that attachment behaviours and relationships are stored in the mind as an internal 'working model'. Most developmental psychologists regard children's attachments as falling into one of four 'attachment styles': secure attachment, insecure avoidant attachment, insecure ambivalent or resistant attachment and disorganised attachment.
