An affectionate bond between individuals, especially between a parent and child (see bonding), or a person and an object, as in a young child and a security blanket.
The term is also used to refer to the site at which a muscle or tendon is attached to a bone.
n. 1. (in psychology) the process of developing the first close selective relationship of a child’s life, most commonly with the mother. The relationship acts to reduce anxiety in strange settings and forms a base from which children develop further relationships and explore their environment. Seriously disturbed attachment is hypothesized to lead to personality disorders, depression, or anxiety disorders in later life. 2. (in the National Health Service) working arrangements by which workers employed by public bodies (such as *district nurses and social workers) are engaged in association with specific general practitioners, caring for their registered patients rather than working solely on a geographical or district basis. 3. (clinical attachment) (in the NHS) a person shadowing a clinical professional, often in order to gain experience in that professional’s field or in the UK in general.
a psychiatric disorder in infants and young children resulting from *institutionalization, poor parenting, emotional neglect, or *child abuse. Affected children may be withdrawn or aggressive, and fearful or attention-seeking and indiscriminately friendly. Treatment requires the provision of stable caring adults as parents over a long period of time.... attachment disorder
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