How Having Divorced Parents Can Affect Your Attachment Style

Having a secure relationship with caregivers in early childhood is what creates a secure attachment style, wherein a person is able to rely on others, allow others to rely on them, and generally form healthy relationships. But divorce in and of itself does not create an insecure attachment style.

"Attachment style is related to what the child experienced before, during, and after the divorce," therapist Chamin Ajjan, M.S., LCSW, A-CBT, tells mbg.

That means the effects of a divorce on a child's attachment style depends on whether it's amicable or fraught with tension. If parents openly communicate with the child throughout the divorce process, provide reassurance, stability, and are kind to one another, Ajjan says the child will probably grow up with a secure attachment style. In fact, they may even feel healthier once their parents are separated and a new normal is established, she adds. 

People who were negatively affected by their parents' divorce and develop an insecure attachment style may become stuck in a cycle of one chaotic relationship after another, Ajjan says. Other outcomes could include avoiding intimate relationships altogether, leaving relationships as soon as they become serious or becoming clingy and mistrustful.  

In some cases, Sosa says people will cope well with their parents' divorce in childhood but then become more affected in adulthood. This is called the divorce sleeper effect. "This sleeper effect comes from a 25-year-old research study from Judith Wallerstein, which suggests that children of divorce, who may have previously shown adaptive and positive coping, may later exhibit adjustment difficulties in romantic relationships," Sosa explains. 

Some children of divorce experience a radically positive breakup and maintain healthy relationships with their parents, resulting in a healthy and secure attachment style as adults. Other kids may see their parents go through a more chaotic split and develop an insecure attachment style as a result.

Tuning into your behaviors and your relationship patterns may help you identify your attachment style and then begin a healing process if needed. "A therapist can help you to identify these behaviors and come up with strategies to heal from past traumas and create new ways to engage in your relationships," Ajjan advises.