DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET 14 CHAPTER 1 calm down but may also remain observably unhappy while the parent is gone. However, once the parent returns, the child will eagerly seek comfort and reunion with the caregiver. She is clearly happy to see the caregiver and will seek comfort and solace from the caregiver immediately. The key to the secure attachment style is that the child is comforted by the parent’s return (Ainsworth et al. [1978] 2014). In an insecure attachment relationship, this pattern of behavior looks very different. In general, a child with an insecure attachment style may not seek to engage the parent in play initially. She may not even seek interaction with the parent at all during the first stage of the experiment. Then when the parent leaves, the child with an insecure attachment style may become upset, much like a child with a secure attachment. Conversely, the child may not even notice or seem to care that the parent has left the room. When the other adult offers to comfort the child, the child may receive comfort, avoid the adult and remain distressed alone, or seem ambivalent about the pres- ence of the other adult. Interestingly, in some cases, the child with an inse- cure attachment style may seem to gain as much comfort from the presence of the other adult as she does from her parent. When the parent returns, a variety of responses may occur. The child may seek comfort from the parent but then physically pull away on contact. She may approach the parent and then stop and resort to crying in place rather than approaching the parent further. In some cases, the child may not even seem to care that the parent has returned. Unlike the children with secure attachment styles, children who have insecure attachment styles do not effectively use their caregivers as a source of support and comfort to ease their distress. It is these responses to this scenario that are telling indicators of potential insecurity of the attach- ment bond between the child and parent (Ainsworth et al. [1978] 2014). Attachment patterns have been categorized by researchers into four pri- mary categories: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent/­resistant, and insecure-disorganized (Ainsworth et al. [1978] 2014; Main and Solomon 1990). Infants with secure attachment styles, as described above, clearly seek comfort and support from a parent and will willingly participate in explor- atory behaviors with the parent present. Within the context of the Strange Situation experiment, on a parent’s return, children seek out comfort to ease their distress, and the parent’s presence has a soothing effect (Ainsworth COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL