Primary attachment in female adolescents: association with depression, self-esteem, and maternal identification

DURING the past two decades, infant and child research has accumulated considerable support for John Bowlby's views on the importance of early attachment experience (1958, 1969, 1973, 1980, 1988). Briefly stated, Bowlby's theory conceptualized infant-mother attachment as a primary instinct, separate from other physiological needs (such as hunger or sex), and serving the purpose of continuing proximity to a caregiver. Children generate "internal working models of attachment" that influence the organization of their attachment-seeking behaviors (Bowlby 1980). During childhood these models are being actively and continuously constructed by the child. Toward the end of adolescence, however, they tend to become stable and serve as a template for later attachments throughout the life cycle. Narrative reconstruction of these attachment models by young adults recalling their childhood can be considered as a dynamic "summary statement" regarding the child's attempts and caregiver's responses in the maintenance of attachment bonds, rather than as verifiable facts (Main and Kaplan 1985).