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Bowlby identified four types of attachment styles: secure, anxious-ambivalent, disorganised and avoidant.

For example, Schaffer and Emerson suggested that attachments develop in four stages: asocial stage or pre-attachment (first few weeks), indiscriminate attachment (approximately 6 weeks to 7 months), specific attachment or discriminate attachment (approximately 7-9 months) and multiple attachment (approximately 10

Early attachment trauma is a distressing or harmful experience that affects a child's ability to form healthy interpersonal relationships. It includes abuse, abandonment, and neglect of an infant or child prior to age two or three. These traumas can have subtle yet long-lasting effects on a person's emotional health.

Of the four patterns of attachment (secure, avoidant, resistant and disorganized), disorganized attachment in infancy and early childhood is recognized as a powerful predictor for serious psychopathology and maladjustment in children (2,1824).

Ainsworth's maternal sensitivity hypothesis argues that a child's attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them. 'Sensitive' mothers are responsive to the child's needs and respond to their moods and feelings correctly.

Attachment refers to a relationship bond between a child or young person and their primary caregiver. This bond is formed in the early years and has a long-term impact on a child's sense of self, development, growth and future relationships with others.

There are four general attachment patterns: a secure pattern; an insecure-avoidant pattern; a resistant attachment pattern; and a disorganized attachment pattern. An infant's attachment pattern is determined and based on their understanding of their caregiver's reliability as a source of comfort and security.