Ambivalent Attachment

What is ambivalent attachment?

Ambivalent attachment, also called resistant attachment in infant research, describes a pattern assessed in a child's relationship with a particular caregiver. In the Strange Situation, seeking contact can coexist with persistent distress or resistance to comfort.

Granqvist and colleagues (2017) explain the infant classification and its relationship-specific meaning. It is more specific than simply having mixed feelings.

Ambivalent Attachment and Adult Relationships

Adult research has used related but distinct terms, including anxious or preoccupied attachment styles. Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) describe the preoccupied adult prototype: a person wants strong emotional closeness but worries that others do not want the same closeness or do not value them as much. Their sense of being accepted can become especially important to how they view themselves. The adult and infant terms describe different assessments. An adult’s anxiety in a relationship does not, by itself, reveal how they were classified as an infant or what happened in their childhood.

An adult relationship example

Imagine someone who wants frequent contact with a partner. When a reply is delayed, they begin to worry that the relationship matters less to the partner and seek reassurance. This hypothetical situation illustrates the combination of desired closeness and concern about being valued. One reaction to a delayed reply does not establish an attachment pattern; the adult research concerns a broader way of describing close relationships.