Are attachment styles adaptive?

Attachment theory very much attempts to explain how we create relationships between individuals. According to John Bowlby, the formulator of attachment theory, 4 different types of attachments attempt to describe an individual's behavior in varying kinds of relationships. The first type is a secure attachment style- when you feel confident in the relationship and your partner while having comfort with a sense of independence. The next style is dismissive-avoidant - which is for individuals who enjoy their sense of independence and become uncomfortable when a relationship becomes overly emotional as they attempt to avoid emotional closeness somewhat consciously. The next type is anxious-preoccupied - which is when an individual greatly desires emotional attention as a means of reassurance, although their partner may not need it. The final type is disorganized- is confused via wanting yet pushing away an emotional connection with another individual.

                Since we now understand attachment style better, we can better understand how attachment “issues” may stem from reflections of previous relationship experiences, romantic or otherwise. For an individual to fit into one of the four types, there must be some “learning” involved either through modeling instead of other methods to address the moment's need. Therefore, attachment issues can be said to be adaptations to our external and internal environment. As we attempt to resolve our emotional needs or discomfort, we gravitate to one type more than another. Along the way, providing us how to “function.”

                What happens along the way to an individual who has “adapted” their emotional attachment to resolve a need or discomfort is that the way they have adapted is no longer “useful” in the context from which it was born. It's an unconscious or conscious effort for some to use what “worked” in the present yet not knowing how to update their connectedness towards others due to possible insecurities of some kind or as simple as not wanting to change. Either way, a new need for adaptability is established when it is realized the current attachment style no longer fits the overall context we currently live in and the need to be more efficient with.