- Raquel Plotka
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Ambivalent attachment is a form of insecure attachment characterized by inconsistent responses of the caregivers and by the child’s feelings of anxiety and preoccupation about the caregiver’s availability.
Ambivalent attachment is one of the attachment patterns categorized in the Strange Situation, and it is classified as C. This type of attachment is characterized by caregivers who respond to the infant’s needs in inconsistent ways, sometimes being neglectful and sometimes responsive. The infant develops an anxious and preoccupied pattern of attachment in which he or she is not sure when the caregiver will respond to his or her needs. As a coping mechanism, the infant develops two strategies, one of clinginess and proximity seeking, and one of avo ...
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- Siegel, D. (1999). The developing mind. New York: Guilford Press.
- Ambivalent Attachment
- Reference Work Title
- Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development
- pp 81-83
- Print ISBN
- Online ISBN
- Springer US
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
- Additional Links
- Industry Sectors
- eBook Packages
- Editor Affiliations
- 480. Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center
- 481. Department of Psychology MS 2C6, George Mason University
- Raquel Plotka (1)
- Author Affiliations
- 1. Applied Developmental Psychology, Fordham University, GSAS, 839 West End Avenue, #4a, New York, NY, 10025, USA
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