Children with Insecure Ambivalent (anxious) Attachment often display a range of ambivalent behaviours. They experience separation anxiety, showing a strong desire to stay close to their parent, becoming distressed and angry when separated, and then resisting contact upon the parent's return.

They can be wary of strangers and show little interest in exploring their surroundings or people, yet remain hypervigilant of their environment.

These children may appear highly articulate, but this does not necessarily correlate with their achievement levels.

They have difficulty controlling their impulses on their own, as they rely entirely on their attachment figure for regulation. However, inconsistent support leads to challenges in performing daily tasks when emotionally overwhelmed, accompanied by high anxiety levels.

They can exhibit escalated attachment-related behaviours to maintain their primary caregiver’s attention and presence, which can range from threatening caretakers with anger to charming them for attention and support.

These children may seem withdrawn or isolated, crave intimacy but feel insecure and unlovable, and doubt whether anyone will want to be close to them.

They can have a strong need for choice and control.

Children with Insecure Ambivalent (anxious) Attachment may worry about rejection and abandonment, be unpredictable, moody, and sometimes hostile, highly emotional, very eager to please, and overly sensitive to others' behaviours.

They can resist soothing yet cling to their parent, feel insecure about exploring their world, are needy for adult attention, and have difficulty focusing on tasks, which can potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of ADHD.

Children with an insecure-avoidant attachment may display minimal emotion upon a caregiver's departure or arrival, showing limited exploration and minimal distress when separated from caregivers, using ambivalence as a facade for their true emotional turmoil.

They may be excessively self-reliant, so seeking an adult's assistance induces insecurity. This behaviour typically develops when a child's needs remain unmet, leading them to view a caregiver's proximity as a means for physical safety rather than emotional connection.

These children may exhibit high anxiety levels and a deep-seated fear of failure.

They often refrain from communicating with adults when distressed.

A child may depend heavily on self-soothing techniques to suppress emotions and avoid seeking support or forming attachments with others. They may show little outward need for affection or intimacy.

Such children frequently struggle to maintain focus on tasks and to sit still.

They have difficulties interpreting social cues and tend to stay on the fringes of peer groups and social interactions.

They might show overt hostility towards tasks, reflecting their sentiments towards authority figures, and respond negatively to rules and regulations.

They may display strong physical and emotional independence, often hesitating to accept help or follow directions.

These children seek closeness to their attachment figures but do not interact directly.

They may seem withdrawn or hesitant and prefer independence.

They are prone to sudden tantrums or emotional outbursts that occur unexpectedly and subside quickly.

Children with Disorganised Attachment may exhibit characteristics such as being easily triggered into anger and fear and an inability to regulate emotions. Often, these children are distrustful of adults because they have not learned to predict adult responses to their needs. This unpredictability leads to confusion and a lack of trust, preventing the formation of secure relationships. Consequently, they may develop a negative self-view and fear of rejection.

Such children might struggle to focus on academic tasks, display persistent attention-seeking behaviour, and have a poor grasp of cause and effect, making it difficult for them to learn from reward and consequence systems.

These children may also show physical responses to environmental stimuli, a fear of the unknown, and a fear of strangers, such as running up to greet a visitor in class before knowing them, talking to strangers, or 'owning' the room. This behaviour is especially common in children who have experienced inconsistent caregiving, such as those in foster care or with parents who sporadically enter and leave their lives, including situations with unsafe caregivers.

Children with Disorganised Attachment might also be controlling or manipulative, intensely anxious, underachieving, distrustful of authority, overwhelmed by low self-esteem, lacking in trust, fearful of abandonment, seek control in relationships with peers and adults, show a limited range of emotions, have a short attention span, experience high levels of anxiety which they may mask with 'power' behaviours, or become quickly overwhelmed by their feelings. They may resist support or encouragement from adults, be hyper-vigilant of adults and other children, and be very compliant and helpful when meeting someone new.