This refers to whoever (or even whatever) a person in distress, whose Attachment Behaviours have been activated, sees as the strong authority figure that is available to them.

• For most children, their most important Attachment object is their mother.
• Most children will have more than one Attachment objects available (father, grandparent, teacher, etc), and may have different Attachment Relationships or styles, towards each of these.

Depending on their Attachment style (which in turn is dictated by their Internal Working Model of how an Attachment Relationship can be predicted to work) they may react in different ways towards this person (Secure, Ambivalent-Enmeshed, Detached-Dismissive, Disorganised).