{{Short description|Feeling of inadequacy}} '''Insecurity''' is the emotion associated with a lack of confidence within oneself.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=insecurity |title=Oxford Dictionary-Insecurity |website=www.oed.com}}</ref> It is often associated with feelings of fear and uncertainty, especially surrounding one's abilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dictionary.apa.org/insecurity |title=APA Dictionary of Psychology: insecurity |website=dictionary.apa.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insecure |title=Definition of INSECURE |website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref> The word was originally used in the psychological sense in the year 1917.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/insecurity#etymonline_v_34919 | title=Insecurity | Etymology of insecurity |website=etymonline }}</ref> It has been observed in both adults and children.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Cummings, E. M. |author2=Davies, P. |date=1996 |title=Emotional security as a regulatory process in normal development and the development of psychopathology. |journal=Development and Psychopathology |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=123–139 |doi=10.1017/S0954579400007008 }}</ref> The word is also associated with attachment styles.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Baer, J. C. |author2=Martinez, C. D. |date=2006 |title=Child maltreatment and insecure attachment: A meta-analysis. |journal=Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=187–197 |doi=10.1080/02646830600821231 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Jinyao, Y. |author2= Xiongzhao, Z. |author3=Auerbach, R. |author4= P.Gardiner, C. K. |author5=Lin, C. |author6=Yuping, W. |author7=Shuqiao, Y. |date=2012 |title=Insecure attachment as a predictor of depressive and anxious symptomology. |journal=Depression and Anxiety |volume=29 |issue= 9 |pages=789–796 |doi= 10.1002/da.21953 |pmid= 22505015 }}</ref>
==Characteristics==
Abraham Maslow described an insecure person as a person who "perceives the world as a threatening jungle and most human beings as dangerous and selfish; feels like a rejected and isolated person, anxious and hostile; is generally pessimistic and unhappy; shows signs of tension and conflict, tends to turn inward; is troubled by guilt-feelings, has one or another disturbance of self-esteem; tends to be neurotic; and is generally selfish and egocentric."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maslow |first=A. H. |year=1942 |title=The Dynamics of Psychological Security-Insecurity |journal=Journal of Personality |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=331–344 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6494.1942.tb01911.x}}</ref> He viewed in every insecure person a continual, never dying, longing for security.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alegre |first=A. |year=2008 |title=Emotional security and its relationship with emotional intelligence |url=http://www.jornadeseducacioemocional.com/wp-content/uploads/mat_anterior/i_jornades/taula1/emotional_security_and_its_relationship_with_emotional_intelligence.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116125205/http://www.jornadeseducacioemocional.com/wp-content/uploads/mat_anterior/i_jornades/taula1/emotional_security_and_its_relationship_with_emotional_intelligence.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2014 |access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref>
A person's capacity for deep thought, understanding others' perspectives, and awareness of their own mortality can contribute to feelings of insecurity.<ref>{{cite book |author=Forgas, J. P. |date=2023 |chapter=Understanding the psychology of insecurity: Evolutionary, cognitive, and cultural perspectives. |title=The Psychology of Insecurity |pages=3–20 |publisher=Routledge |isbn= 978-1032329864}}</ref> One hypothesis proposes that children's responses to marital conflict are driven by their need for emotional security, which influences their emotional regulation and behavior. This theory suggests that children's past experiences with marital conflict shape their emotional security, which in turn affects their long-term adjustment and future responses to family dynamics, including parent-child relationships.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Davies, P. T. |author2=Cummings, E. M. |date=1994 |title=Marital conflict and child adjustment: an emotional security hypothesis |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=116 |issue=3 |pages=387–411 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.387 |pmid=7809306 }}</ref>
Feelings of insecurity can arise due to feelings of inadequacy in any domain, whether it may be in a relationship or workplace setting.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-insecurity | title=Signs of Insecurity |website=www.webmd.com |date=2024-10-12 |access-date=2 August 2025}}</ref>
==See also== * Anxiety * Cowardice * Social vulnerability
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:Attachment theory Category:Emotional issues Category:Emotions Category:Mental health Category:Psychological attitude es:Inseguridad emocional fr:Insécurité pt:Insegurança emocional