Child Category:           Secure: 

• Have mother/caregiver who is consistently available, meets needs of child and has pleasurable interaction with child
• Child trusts caregivers, turns to them for comfort and safety
• Perceives self as lovable and has positive self-perception

Adult Category:           Autonomous:

• Coherent, believable narrative about childhood experiences
• Value relationships & turn to intimate others for comfort and security
• Are self-reflective, accept that others have different perceptions
• Adaptable, open, self-regulated
• Positive and realistic view of self

 Child Category:           Anxious/Ambivalent :

• Have mothers who are inconsistently available
• Do not trust caregivers to be consistently available to offer comfort and security
• Long for closeness
• Manipulative, clingy, impulsive anger
•  Unable to separate from caregiver & develop autonomy

Adult Category:           Preoccupied

• Confusing childhood experience with mothers who were unpredictably available and unavailable
• Overly dependent on close relationships
• Seek approval from others and fear being devalued
• Exhibit high levels of emotional intensity
• Impulsive in reactions
• View self as unworthy
• View others as superior to them

Child Category:           Avoidant: 

• Have mothers who are unavailable, hostile or indifferent
• Learn to deny needs and feelings, avoid close relationships
• appear independent
• Believe they have to take care of them selves
• May be caregivers, compliant and display only positive affect

Adult Category:           Dismissing :

• Early history of rejection or neglect but deny importance on their development
• Often idealize parents, have difficulty recalling details
• Need to be independent, self-sufficient
• Prefer not to depend on others
• Focus more on activities to  avoid feelings and need for closeness
• Suppress feelings
• Distance themselves from others who may reject them.
• View self as superior

Child Category:           Disorganized:

• Have caregiver who is abusive or severely neglecting
• Hypervigilant to abuse
• Conflicted by drive to flee to parent for safety and flee from the parent who is source of alarm.
• Respond with fight, flight, freeze
• Do not have organized strategy to attach

Adult Category:           Unresolved:

• In AAI describe confused & incoherent family histories
• Have not resolved early trauma or loss
• Perceive relationships as dangerous
• May dissociate
• View self as victim
• May become aggressor to avoid feeling or victimization