This presentation is intended to provide a descriptive account of the behavior, language, and

representational processes that identify disorganized attachment status in infants, children, and adults

From an evolutionary perspective, a central mechanism promoting infant survival is the maintenance of proximity to attachment figures. Consequently attachment figure(s) represent the infant's primary solution to experiences of fear. Aspects of the development of the field of attachment are outlined within this context, beginning with Bowlby's ethological/evolutionary theory, and proceeding to Ainsworth's early descriptions of infant-mother interaction in Uganda and Baltimore.