Is it true that twins are very attached to each other?
There is a lot of research on attachment behavior in babies and children, as this is a human behavior that develops from birth, when the baby is strongly attached to the people who care for him/her, because he/she depends on them to survive. But how does this work with adults?
According to some research, attachment behavior remains lifelong and we even create attachment hierarchies! We always have that special person that we want to tell good news before everyone else, or run when something bad happens, don't we?
Researchers have defined four main traits that characterize attachment relationships: 1) you really enjoy being with that person, and strive to make it happen frequently; 2) you miss him/her so much when you have to stay away from each other; 3) that person is your safe haven; 4) when you are with him/her, or even just knowing that he/she exists, you feel secure and confident.
Relationships between siblings are not always attachment relationships, but many times, they are! What is more, there are evidences that twins commonly develop very close and interdependent relationships. So, is your sibling the first in your attachment scale?
References
Photo: Keisha Montfleury
Written by:
Raquel de Oliveira Landenberger
When this text was written, she was a fourth-year undergraduate of Psychology at USP, a Scientific Initiation student in the Experimental Psychology department, and was conducting research on attachment between twin siblings.