Moving Around While Growing Up

alice, "chaotic" and inconsistent households, with lots of coming and going, can cause attachment issues, yes.

I believe now may be a little better because it's easier to stay in touch with people you may have gotten attached to, friends and family, even after you move because of the technology we now have. But especially back in the day, your option was writing letters, and at least when kids moved away and changed schools when I was young that was pretty much it for ever being in touch again.

I also think so much is involved in moving that the adults / parents are very likely incredibly busy and distracted for at least a couple to a few months setting up everyone's lives and readjusting every time the family moves. Children are bound to get inconsistent attention each of those times unless the adults have a ton of help available with moving each time. Plus a child may feel powerless if they really liked where they were and kept having to leave repeatedly when they had no choice in the matter.

Anecdotally, I once dated someone with a childhood like this. He had very severe attachment issues and other mental health problems for various reasons, but he always told me he was a lonely kid who didn't learn how to make long-term relationships due to all the moving, and in retrospect he definitely idealized his friendships as an adult. Even in the time I knew him, could only sustain the friendships for a few years at a time (then he'd choose to move again and lose touch or generally have avoidant freakouts and cut people out).