<P> Children who are securely attached typically are visibly upset as their caregivers leave, but they are happy upon their return . These children seek comfort from their parent or caregiver when frightened . In an instance when their parent or primary caregiver is not available, these children can be comforted to a degree by others, but they prefer their familiar parent or caregiver . Likewise, when parents with secure attachments reach out to their children, the children welcome the connection . Playing with children is more common when parents and children have a secure attachment . These parents react more quickly to their children's needs and are typically more responsive to a child they are securely attached to than one of insecure attachment . Attachment carries on throughout the growth of the children . Studies support that secure attachments with primary caregivers lead to more mature and less aggressive children than those with avoidant or ambivalent attachment styles . </P> <P> The relationship type infants establish with their primary caregiver can predict the course of their relationships and connections throughout their lives . Those who are securely attached have high self - esteem, seek out social connection and support and are able to share their feelings with other people. They also tend to have long - term, trusting relationships . Secure attachment has been shown to act as a buffer to determinants of health among preschoolers, including stress and poverty . One study supports that women with a secure attachment style had more positive feelings with regard to their adult relationships than women with insecure attachment styles . Within an adult romantic relationship, secure attachment can mean both people engage in close, bodily contact, disclose information with one another, share discoveries with each other and feel safe when the other is nearby . </P> <P> The Strange Situation was an experimental procedure developed by Ainsworth to study the variety of attachment forms between one - to two - year - olds and their mothers . Mothers at the time were their primary caregivers . The sample was made up of 100 middle class American families . There was a room set up with one - way glass allowing the researcher to observe the interaction . Inside the room, there were some toys and a confederate, fulfilling the role of stranger . The Strange Situation had eight episodes lasting three minutes each . The behavior of the infant was observed during each phase . The mother, baby and experimenter were all together initially . This phase lasted less than one minute . Then the mother and baby were alone in the room . A stranger, confederate, joined the mother and infant . After a set time had passed, the mother would leave the room, leaving her child with the stranger . The children with a secure attachment to their mother would cry for a few minutes but were able to compose themselves and play with the toys . Once the mother returned, the children with secure attachments greeted them and returned to play . Sometimes, they would show their mothers the toys with which they had played . As the mother returned, the stranger left . Then the mother left and the infant was left alone . The stranger returned . Lastly, the mother returned and the stranger left . This strange situation became the basis of the attachment theory . </P> <P> J.R. Harris is one of the main critics of attachment theory . She suggests that people assume that honest and respectful parents will have honest and respectful children, et cetera . However, this may not be the case . Harris argues that children's peers have more influence on one's personality than their parents . The common example used is a child with immigrant parents . The children are able to continue to speak their parent's original language whilst at home, but the children can also learn the new language and speak it without an accent, while the parents' accent remains . Harris claims that children learn these things from their peers in an attempt to fit in with others . In the nature versus nurture debate within secure attachment, Harris takes a nature stance . She supports herself by stating that identical twins separated at birth showed more similarities in their hobbies and interests than twins raised in the same household . </P>

Parents of securely attached infants have been described as