Secure attachment is an adult attachment style that is characterized by a positive view of the self, others, and relationships. Generally speaking, adults who are able to form secure attachments usually had secure attachments in early childhood. They usually come from positive, supportive childhood backgrounds. They are able to reflect on their childhood experiences, both good and bad.

Adults with secure attachments are comfortable with being intimate with other people and enjoy intimate relationships. They are secure both with themselves and in their relationships. The relationships of individuals who are securely attached tend to be warm, trusting, and last for a long time. The partners are aware of themselves and what they are feeling.

Anxious attachment is a type of insecure attachment style rooted in a fear of abandonment and an insecurity of being underappreciated. People with an anxious attachment style, also called preoccupied attachment disorder, often feel nervous about being separated from their partner. Anxious attachment is formed in children with an unpredictable or emotionally insensitive parent. One moment the parent will be loving and available. In the next moment, they're not meeting basic needs for love, security, or attention. People with anxious attachment long for deep connection and love. However, these same childhood experiences have made them find it difficult to trust people close to them, including their partners, and creates overwhelming insecurity about their relationships.

Individuals with an avoidant attachment style are masters at self-reliance. They tend to use tactics that involve withdrawing away from the big, scary emotions or conversations to avoid anything potentially disconnecting in their relationships. Early on they learned in their development that they can’t rely on others to meet their emotional needs. Similarly, they did not learn how to meet the emotional needs of other people, either. So instead of making space for and going towards their own emotions or the emotions of their partner, they find ways to cope with their emotions independently.

In adulthood is an insecure attachment style caused by disorganized attachment in and childhood trauma. This attachment style is characterized by one’s negative view of themselves and their inability to get close to others. Individuals with fearful avoidant attachment have negative views of themselves and others. They are highly dependent on others’ approval and affirmation. They are highly anxious and desire closeness, but they avoid intimacy due to their negative expectations to prevent the pain of rejection or loss