Attachment Trauma (Part 1/3)
What is attachment trauma/wounding?
Attachment trauma (also known as attachment wounding or relational trauma) arises when the bond between a child and their primary caregiver is interrupted and leads to a disruption in healthy bonding. This can take shape in the form of emotional neglect, abandonment, or abuse. The consequences of attachment trauma can be severe and long-lasting. A healthy and secure caregiver-child relationship is essential for healthy development, self-assurance, self-regulation, and the ability to form other relationships securely.
Many individuals who attend therapy initially reflect and report having a ‘happy childhood’ - and that is certainly wonderful; however, quite often they remember having their material needs met but not their emotional needs. This is a common experience for many individuals. Growing up, there was housing, clothing, food on the table, schooling, but that does not necessarily mean that the emotional support and validation needs were met. They are equally important as material needs - if not more.
The Importance of Healthy Attachment in Children
Healthy and secure attachment is crucial for a child's emotional and social development. Caregivers need to provide children with comfort, safety, protection, affection, regulation, connection, and basic core needs consistently, safely and regularly to achieve this secure attachment. When healthy attachment is not created by their primary caregivers, a child can develop negative coping mechanisms such as avoidance, entitlement, perfectionism or extreme clinginess when their emotional needs are not met. This emotional trauma can disrupt the child’s emotional, social and relational development and can lead to a development of severe mental illnesses.
Causes of Attachment Trauma
Here are some potential causes of attachment trauma (this is not an exhaustive list):
Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
Neglect
Deprivation (of nurturance, empathy, guidance, protection)
Emotional and/or physical abandonment
Absence of positives
Divorce and separation of primary attachment figures
Parent's mental/physical illness
Parents’ substance dependency
Death of a parent
High-conflict home environmet
Domestic violence
Invalidation of child’s distress
Enmeshment
Parentification
Impact of Early Attachment on an Individual's Life
Early attachment experiences have a significant impact on an individual's self-esteem and confidence throughout their life. It can even influence their choice of romantic partners.
In addition, a lack of secure attachment can result in developmental problems, academic difficulties, emotional challenges, behavioral issues, and cognitive limitations. These issues often arise during childhood and can persist into adulthood if the person fails to establish healthier patterns. Trust issues, social difficulties, unstable/unclear sense of self, emotional dysregulation, and poor impulse control are also common symptoms of insecure attachment.
Final Word
Attachment wounding occurs when a child experiences neglect or abuse from their primary caregiver, or when the caregiver is inconsistently available or is unresponsive to the child's needs. Similarly, overprotective parenting can also lead to attachment trauma, as the child may feel smothered and unable to develop autonomy. As a result, the child's ability to form healthy emotional connections with others is compromised. This can result in the child developing an insecure attachment style, which can manifest in adulthood as difficulty forming and maintaining close, stable relationships, fear of abandonment, insecurity, and low self-worth.
In Part 2 of this series, we will be focusing on the influence of early attachment trauma on adult relationships.
At Life Growth Psychology, our trained clinical psychologists are experienced in helping you with understanding your attachment wounding. Book an appointment with us and start your healing journey today.
