Maternal Sensitivity and Attachment Styles

Mary Ainsworth first defined maternal sensitivity. Bowlby later developed his attachment theory based on her definition. He suggested that mothers respond differently to their children depending on how sensitive they are to their child’s needs. Bowlby’s theory suggests that there are four types of attachment: secure, anxious-avoidant, anxious-ambivalent, and disorganized/disoriented. Each of these indicates the type of attachment the child develops towards their mother. Although there’s a universal prototype of what a mother should be, not all women can adjust to it. This is because, sometimes, individual circumstances prevent the mother from conforming to this model. Let’s take a look…