This chapter addresses the defensive organization of the dismissing-avoidant attachment orientation. The authors begin by noting striking similarities between avoidant children and dismissing-avoidant adults in how they regulate their behavior and emotions in situations that, for most people, generate considerable anxiety or despair (e.g., separation or relationship loss). They argue that, despite phenotypic similarities, different mechanisms may be responsible for producing avoidance in children and adults. The authors then attempt to answer 3 questions: (1) How does the mind need to be structured to suppress attachment-related thoughts and feelings? (2) What kinds of social and cognitive processes are necessary to sustain a defensive psychological orientation? (3) What are some plausible developmental pathways through which avoidance in adulthood might emerge?

This summary was copied (with permission) from the following website:
Adult Attachment Lab, University of California at Davis