Editing Attachment theory (section)

===Anxious-ambivalent attachment===
Anxious-ambivalent attachment is a form of insecure attachment and is also misnamed as "resistant attachment".<ref name="Ainsworth,1978a">{{cite book |title=Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation |vauthors=Ainsworth MD, Blehar M, Waters E, Wall S |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-89859-461-4 |location=Hillsdale NJ}}</ref><ref name="Plotka 2011 pp. 81–83">{{cite book | last=Plotka | first=Raquel | title=Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development | chapter=Ambivalent Attachment | publisher=Springer US | publication-place=Boston, MA | year=2011 | doi=10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_104 | pages=81–83| isbn=978-0-387-77579-1 |quote=Ambivalent attachment is a form of insecure attachment characterized by inconsistent responses of the caregivers and by the child's feelings of anxiety and preoccupation about the caregiver's availability.}}</ref> In general, a child with an anxious-ambivalent pattern of attachment will typically explore little (in the Strange Situation) and is often wary of strangers, even when the parent is present. When the caregiver departs, the child is often highly distressed showing behaviours such as crying or screaming. The child is generally ambivalent when the caregiver returns.<ref name="Ainsworth, M.D.S, Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S." /> The anxious-ambivalent strategy is a response to unpredictably responsive caregiving, and the displays of anger (ambivalent resistant, C1) or helplessness (ambivalent passive, C2) towards the caregiver on reunion can be regarded as a conditional strategy for maintaining the availability of the caregiver by preemptively taking control of the interaction.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Solomon J, George C, De Jong A |year=1995 |title=Children classified as controlling at age six: Evidence of disorganized representational strategies and aggression at home and at school |journal=Development and Psychopathology |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=447–463 |doi=10.1017/s0954579400006623|s2cid=146576663 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Crittenden P | date = 1999 | chapter = Danger and development: the organization of self-protective strategies | title = Atypical Attachment in Infancy and Early Childhood Among Children at Developmental Risk | url = https://archive.org/details/atypicalattachme0000unse | veditors = Vondra JI, Barnett D | location = Oxford | publisher = Blackwell | pages = [https://archive.org/details/atypicalattachme0000unse/page/145 145]–171 | isbn = 978-0-631-21592-9 }}</ref>

The C1 (ambivalent resistant) subtype is coded when "resistant behavior is particularly conspicuous. The mixture of seeking and yet resisting contact and interaction has an unmistakably angry quality and indeed an angry tone may characterize behavior in the preseparation episodes".<ref name="Ainsworth, M.D.S, Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S." />

Regarding the C2 (ambivalent passive) subtype, Ainsworth et al. wrote:

{{blockquote|Perhaps the most conspicuous characteristic of C2 infants is their passivity. Their exploratory behavior is limited throughout the SS and their interactive behaviors are relatively lacking in active initiation. Nevertheless, in the reunion episodes they obviously want proximity to and contact with their mothers, even though they tend to use signalling rather than active approach, and protest against being put down rather than actively resisting release&nbsp;... In general the C2 baby is not as conspicuously angry as the C1 baby.<ref name="Ainsworth, M.D.S, Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S." />}}

Research done by McCarthy and Taylor (1999) found that children with [[Adverse childhood experiences|abusive childhood experiences]] were more likely to develop ambivalent attachments. The study also found that children with ambivalent attachments were more likely to experience difficulties in maintaining intimate relationships as adults.<ref name="mccarthy1999avoidant">{{cite news |title=Avoidant/ambivalent attachment style as a mediator between abusive childhood experiences and adult relationship difficulties |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-child-psychology-and-psychiatry_1999-03_40_3/page/465 |last1=McCarthy |first1=Gerard |last2=Taylor |first2=Alan |work=Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |year=1999 |issue=3 |volume=40 |pages=465–477 |doi=10.1111/1469-7610.00463 |ref=mccarthy1999avoidant}}</ref>