Research has shown that adult attachment styles are based on the position that the kind of emotional bonds that existed between parents and their children forms the motivational system behind the kind of bonds that the children would later develop as adults within the mature, intimate and emotional relationships. Adult Attachment Styles is a topic that is deeply steeped in positive psychology. Positive psychology is the pursuit of happiness, engagement, relationships, and meaning in the appropriation of the individual as well as general well-being. Attachment styles are, therefore, models that help explain relationship patterns through a description and prediction of behaviors and actions of persons engaged in an interpersonal relationship ( Lambert, Passmore & Holder, 2015) . They are a representation of an innate human need for social connection.
Relevant Theories on Adult Attachment Styles
There are four main types of adult attachment styles that ultimately influence the running of relational attachments. According to Fonagy (2018), these attachment styles determine how individuals perceive closeness and avail emotional intimacy, and how they respond and resolve conflicts. They also shape the expectations that one has of the relationship and of the partner, and the ability to articulate and communicate emotional needs. Previous psychological studies stated attachments to be an 'all or nothing' aspect. However, the broached attachment styles give a perspective on how different forms of attachments can be exercised by different people to different degrees.
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Secure Attachment Style
This attachment style is steeped in confidence that a relational partner will be there with one is in need, and the confidence that the individuals involved can depend on each other. These individuals are confident in and comfortable with relational and emotional intimacy. This implies that they are neither preoccupied with their partners and the relationship nor worried that the partner will reject them and their love. They easily let people 'in' and are generally keen on depending on each other in the relationship.
Avoidant Attachment Style
Individuals who demonstrate the avoidant attachment style often have a flippant attitude towards closeness and are keen on independence. These individuals highly value freedom and are, therefore, not worried about the emotional availability of their partners. They often have trust issues and cannot rely or depend on others or even draw them closer. Self-sufficiency and self-efficacy are crucial elements of their personality. These attributes are not existent because avoidant individuals do not desire closeness, but because they need for closeness and intimacy is suppressed or manifests itself in a different form. Suppression of emotional needs may stem from a deep-seated desire to mask and protect their vulnerabilities, often associated with suppressed needs, or indifference or unawareness as far as these needs are concerned ( Fonagy, 2018) .
Anxious-Resistant Attachment Style
People with anxious-resistant attachment issues are often angry or frustrated because their partners fail to meet their emotional needs, and are often afraid that their partners may not love them as much as they do. Such individuals are often worried that their partners will hurt them.
Current Research Efforts in Adult Attachment Styles
Current research efforts have shown that there is indeed evidence that traces various adult attachment styles, such as secure and insecure relational attachments, to the availability and extent of maternal as well as non-maternal care during infancy and childhood. However, conclusive research should be delivered in first determining whether a specific relationship lives up to the definition of an attachment relationship, and second in determining whether childhood emotional bonds and attachment styles are a clear reflection of those engaged later in adulthood. Other researchers have posited that there are specific genes that better explain these attachment styles, whether one takes the child in the context of self or in the context of a caregiving environment. The environment has proved, over time, to be an important factor in the explanation of how attachments are developed. Fearon & Belsky (2018) advance that the scope of factors that influence attachment styles should not be examined in isolation as they can never act alone. Ecological, contextual, and psychological factors are interlaced in their impact on individuals' adult attachment styles, implying that the tendency towards and need for relationships is evolutionarily, environmentally, and biologically ingrained in each individual.
Recent research has also encouraged inquiry to be extended beyond just the focus on sensitivity to attachments determined by interactions. To this effect, diverse measurement tools were employed, such as observation, and parental behaviors and changes that influence behavior, which provide a greater understanding of interactional determinants. It is proposed that more extensive research should be conducted in a bid to develop models that extensively explain how attachments are influenced by parental behaviors. This is because theoretically, inferences can erroneously be drawn as in the extent of continuity as far as attachment security is concerned and the differential stability existent in insecure attachments. The establishment of the Item Response Theory (IRT) model aided in attachment scaling, especially in self-report initiatives on adult attachments.
Research also points towards the need to identify risks (stresses) and protective factors (support) simultaneously. This is because these risks are projected to attain a perfect balance with individuals’ strengths. Also, development outcomes are projected to be problematic, such as the development of attachment insecurity issues, given that they are based on the accumulation of risk factors that fail to be balanced by support systems. Examples of such risks include lack of social support, negative infant temperament, low parental psychological adjustment, poor marital relationships, and higher stress levels in a family ( Fearon & Belsky, 2018) . In the spirit of positive psychology that seeks to promote happiness and well-being, current and future research studies should focus on the factors that can change an individual's attachment style in an effort to promote attachment and relational security.
Compare and Contrast Positive Psychology Theories
The theories of positive psychology revolve around the general idea of well-being and factors that make life worth living. Recent developments of positive psychology looked beyond the aspect of well-being and happiness as a life devoid of suffering. The original theory of positive psychology, The Authentic Happiness Theory, focused primarily on three types of life experiences. There was the pleasant life in which happiness was a core component, the engaged life in which individuals experienced a flow by complete unification with their actions and the meaningful life in which individuals get to focus on and live for something or a goal that is bigger than themselves (Lambert, Passmore & Holder, 2015) .
The revised theory, The Well-being Theory, added two crucial factors to the three contained in the original theory, two create a five-factor model: Positive emotion, engagements, relationships (attachments), meaning (Purpose) and accomplishments (PERMA). These five factors create a life of well-being and security for individuals, where positive relationships are a key support to the other four factors. While The Authentic Happiness Theory of positive psychology centered around the aspect of happiness and the absence of suffering, The Well-being Theory build the idea of a life of flow and meaning based on five crucial pillars.
Recent research in positive psychology has raised concerns in the broad classification of phenomena as entirely positive or entirely negative. This is because aspects deemed as ostensibly positive and positively influential to the well-being of people may sometimes be counterproductive, such as extreme optimism. Similarly, aspects classified as ostensibly negative may prove productive to the well-being of individuals. A case in the pointer is anxiety, which has often been prompt to many to pursue meaning, happiness, and accomplishment. This school of thought characterizes the second wave that sets out to outline contours of an evolving field ( Lomas & Ivtzan, 2016) .
Conclusion
As social beings, attachment styles arise from the basic need for human beings to enjoy close and intimate relationships. This remains to be a primary drive in actions undertaken in everyday life, where it is almost a universal agreement that life is hinged upon attachments and relationships, from infancy to adulthood. Having covered the main adult attachment styles, it is conclusive that there is no superior attachment style as they seem to be programmed and ingrained in us from our childhood. However, it is crucial for every individual to be aware of their attachment styles and to try and understand the motivations that drive the attachment styles of others, a feat that would enable adults to navigate their relationships better. Attachment styles are, therefore, quite influential when it comes to the psychological well-being of human beings.
References
Fearon, R. P., & Belsky, J. (2018). Precursors of Attachment Security. Guilford Publications.
Fonagy, P. (2018). Attachment Theory and psychoanalysis . Routledge.
Lambert, L., Passmore, H. A., & Holder, M. D. (2015). Foundational Frameworks of Positive
Psychology: Mapping Well-being Orientations. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne , 56 (3), 311.
Lomas, T., & Ivtzan, I. (2016). Second Wave Positive Psychology: Exploring the Positive–
Negative Dialectics of Wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies , 17 (4), 1753-1768.
