Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Background: A person's early years play a significant role in shaping who they will become as adults. A functional, emotionally mature adult will inevitably be raised in a secure, healthy, and communicative home. The National Institute of Mental Health (USA) defines childhood trauma as the experience of an emotionally upsetting or unpleasant incident by a kid, which frequently has long-lasting impacts on the child's mental and physical health. By the time they are sixteen years old, almost two-thirds of youngsters in community surveys say they have been through a traumatic event. An important study conducted in 2016 found a connection between attachment types and early trauma. Furthermore, the study's findings demonstrated a strong and unfavorable correlation between secure attachment type and maltreatment throughout childhood. Moreover, the outcomes concentrated on forecasting the attachment patterns of a person who has experienced a traumatic incident. According to the findings, individuals with comparatively high levels of childhood trauma express insecure attachment patterns, which include scared, preoccupied, and dismissive attachment styles (Erozkan, 2016). The purpose of the study was to comprehend how adult attachment types and childhood trauma interact. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were the three instruments used for this. The findings showed that there was a strong negative link between attachment types and childhood trauma, as well as a significant correlation between the two variables.
Materials and Methods: The samples of individuals were chosen from the sub-continent of India, the individuals resided in various states of India. The sample selected for this study was 120 individuals ranging between the age groups of 18 to 25 years and were mainly male and female. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the relationship questionnaire (RQ) were used.
Results: This research aims at understanding the relation between childhood trauma and attachment styles. The data obtained showcased that most individuals with childhood trauma adopted an anxious attachment style, with a high dependent sub-scale, while other developed an avoidant attachment style. A very small percentage also developed a secure attachment style.
Conclusion: The study aimed to understand the Childhood trauma, resilience and attachment styles among young adults. The result indicated a significant correlation between the three variables of study as well as having childhood trauma negatively predicts attachment styles. In addition to this, a significant correlation was found between the three variables. However, not all individuals depicted an anxious attachment style, some also developed an avoidant attachment style. The data obtained showcased that most individuals with childhood trauma adopted an anxious attachment style, with a high dependent sub-scale, while others developed an avoidant attachment style. A very small percentage (20%) also developed a secure attachment style.