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Secure attachment refers to the quality of the emotional bond one person forms with another. It commonly refers to the bond an infant or child forms with the parents or primary caregivers and the way this bond affects the child later in life. Children whose parents create an environment in which the child feels safe and loved are likely to form a secure attachment with the parents that carries over to other relationships. Other events later in life can affect a person’s ability to form attachments, however, and other relationships can alter the attachment style for better or worse.

Attachment theory is a psychological theory about how young children develop human relationships. Psychologist John Bowlby developed the theory in the 1960s. Attachment theory provides an explanation of when and why emotional bonds form in children by theorizing that infants need to develop a strong and secure relationship with at least one caregiver for normal emotional development. This theory not only relates to children, but also carries through into adult interpersonal relationships. The initial caregiver relationship has such an impact on an infant that it affects subsequent relationships as the child grows and becomes an adult.

Developmental psychologist. Mary Ainsworth was born Mary Dinsmore Salter on December 1, 1913, in Glendale, Ohio. Her parents were graduates of Dickinson who instilled in their three daughters the importance of education. When Ainsworth was five, her father accepted a position as the president of a manufacturing firm in Toronto, Ontario, and the family moved there. They eventually became naturalized citizens.