To ensure survival, infants need to be physically close to the mother and form an enduring emotional bond. In the first book of his trilogy Attachment and Loss (1969), Bowlby postulates that attachment behavior serves an evolutionary function in protection of the infant.
Supportive caregiving relationships are key to many developmental domains of early childhood, including attachment. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, the prime authors of attachment theory, argued that to assure survival, infants need to be physically close to the caregiver and form an enduring emotional bond.
As a consequence of the prolonged period of helplessness during infancy, children depend on supportive caregiving relationships to function properly. This thesis is the central tenet of attachment theory, which is central to understanding emotional development of children. John Bowlby, the prime author of attachment theory, argued that to assure survival, infants need to be physically close to the caregiver and form an enduring emotional bond.
