Student Attachment Study

I spent much of my time when I was in high school struggling with managing both my own mental illness and the mental illnesses of my friends. I didn 't have many friends in real life that I felt close to the same way I did with my online friends, who I 'd known for years. My girlfriend, who I had also met online and was my first serious relationship, was the most emotionally demanding of my friends as she dealt with emerging mental illnesses of her own. Wanting to be a good partner, and with our contact being mostly online-based at this point, I set my instant messaging programs to have a loud beeping noise whenever I was contacted, so that if I was asleep I would be awoken to help. Though I loved helping my friends and my girlfriend, waiting …show more content…
Reed, Tolman, Ward and Safyer (2016) did a study on attachment anxiety and “electronic intrusions” in high school dating relationships, which I felt was relevant to my experiences as an adolescent. Attachment theory refers to a system by which an infant forms an attachment to their caregiver and learns whether or not people can be relied upon (Psych of Adolescence 2016). There are three main styles of attachment for infants – secure, anxious and avoidant. John Bowlby describes the theory of attachment as something that applies “from the cradle to the grave”, and thus affects adolescents and their relationship style (Psych of Adolescence 2016). For anxiously attached individuals, like my girlfriend was, are “quick to fall in love but often worrying their partner does not feel the same (Reed, Tolman, Ward & Safyer 2016)”. She often required, in addition to constant attention for her emotional well-being, constant affirmation of my love. Though I would have considered myself “securely” attached early in our relationship, there were times were I felt much more “insecure” in our relationship due to the strains and stress of mental