Attachment and Forming of Identity

Identity represents the sense of wholeness of one person, sense of continuity in one`s behavior instead of different changes that are occurring inside an individual or around it. The identity consists of cognitive and emotional aspects of an individual and its self-perception about what happens „inside me” and what differ me from other people. Self-perception is developing under the influence of the environment, cultural factors and agencies in the process of socialization and it is the basis of our self-regard as once evaluation of one self. For developing of identity the most important period is adolescence, but we can find the roots in early childhood. For Ericson, in the period before adolescence, in different periods of childhood and early youth a person has to resolve different crises to develop the sense of autonomy, thrust, individuality ect. Globally, the results of identity development can be positive identity outcomes or foreclosure. Those identity development results primarily depend on socio-emotional factors where the great importance belongs to early interaction with caregivers and the mother on the first place. The sense of trust that is developing in the early childhood will result in the secure socio-emotional status and perception of one self and other persons in the environment as positive and reliable. On the other side, early developed sense of insecurity will probably result in the tendency of avoidance. So, consequences of those early interaction will influence characteristic affective style of one person which is related to self-regard and is the part of one’s identity. The aim of this article is to analyze the role of attachment and its importance in forming of an identity which is the basis of our interactions, our feeling of controlling or being controlled, our emotions, attitudes and behavior. Understanding the interplay between these aspects helps us comprehend the complexities of human development.