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Insecure Attachment

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Definitions

Insecure attachment :

An individual relationship can be insecure when it contains elements of mistrust together with anxious or avoidant elements and lacks a secure base. It is considered a dysfunctional relationship.

Insecure attachment style :

This is an interpersonal style with anxious (e.g., fearful or anxious ambivalent) or avoidant (e.g., dismissive) characteristics related to problematic experience in childhood and difficulties with careers and adult relationships. Such styles affect around 30% or more of the population, depending on which measures used.

Anxious attachment style :

Enmeshed/Preoccupied is a dependent style with high need for proximity and under-developed autonomy. It involves clinging behavior which can involve anger when needs are not met. Fearful style involves fear of rejection or criticism and this is often accompanied by behavioral avoidance.

Dismissive/Avoidant styles include those withdrawn who have over-developed self-reliance and keep...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology and Human Well-being Research Centre, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bandar Baru Bangi, Malaysia

    Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir

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  1. Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir
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Correspondence to Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA

    Christopher J. Holden

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Abdul Kadir, N.B. (2017). Insecure Attachment. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2025-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2025-1

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