Illumination of shadowing behavior in individuals with Alzheimer's Disease: Proximity-Seeking? As life becomes the "Strange Situation"

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an intrapersonal help for caregivers through proposing a model for understanding shadowing behavior. This model is based on Bowlby's (1973) discussion of attachment and related concepts such as proximity-seeking, the "strange situation", and the secure base. Building on Bowlby's discussion, Mikulincer and Shaver (2008) developed a visual representation of the dynamics of adult attachment, herein modified and explicated according to its proposed relationship to caregivers and care recipients living with Alzheimer's disease. A potential underlying brain-based rationale, is also presented.