The first love experience is based on the warmth, care and love infants receive through contact with the mother, father or some other principal care-giver.
During infancy and childhood, the emotionally warm events we share with our parents, lead us to shape close emotional ties and shape the way we create links with others throughout our lives. Tender behaviors such as touching, caressing, holding, kissing and hugging help us develop a sense of love and security, increasing oxytocin (the "hormone of love"), which is responsible for making us feel close to others and helps us relax and trust.
The bond with the principal care-giver during infancy is not only important for our survival. It provides us with the security and the comfort needed when we are under stressful conditions and sustains our physical and mental well-being. When we have experienced this bond as infants, then as adults we built safe relationships and we choose partners that correspond to our feelings accordingly. On the other hand, people who have experienced insecurity during infancy, tend to experience insecurity, stress or avoidance in their relationships later in life, either by clinging to their partners because they feel that they do not love them enough, or by feeling very uncomfortable when committed to a partner, thus, leaving close relationships and avoiding long-term ones.