The Role of Attachment Style on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior

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dc.contributor.advisorCassidy, Jude
dc.contributor.authorDeol, Gunleen
dc.contributor.authorFlamholz, Mollie
dc.contributor.authorFitter, Megan
dc.contributor.authorStraske, Davis
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-21T20:02:55Z
dc.date.available2020-04-21T20:02:55Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractInsecure attachment in adolescents is often linked to risky sexual behavior (i.e. behavior that increases one’s chances of contracting sexually transmitted infections or experiencing unintended pregnancies; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). The current study examines associations between anxious and avoidant attachment styles and risky sexual behavior, while also examining gender as a moderator. We hypothesized that in adolescents, attachment anxiety would predict riskier sexual behavior, and this effect would be stronger in girls than boys. We also hypothesized that an avoidant attachment style would predict less risky sexual behavior, and this effect would be stronger for girls than boys. Participants (N = 277) were from year 5 of an ongoing longitudinal study (Evans et al., 2018). Participants were 12-17 years old and 44.7% female, 55.3% male, 49.3% Caucasian, 50.7% non-Caucasian. Results suggest the importance of attachment style in predicting adolescents’ risky sexual behavior. Avoidant individuals were found to engage in a significant amount of sexual risk-taking (β = .206, p = .014), and this effect was marginally stronger for girls (β= .337 p = .003). Anxious individuals were found to engage in little sexual risk-taking (β = -.287, p =.001). Both main effects were the opposite of what we hypothesized. These findings shed light on adolescents who are at a higher risk for participating in risky sexual behaviors and have implications for attachment interventions.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/6tge-7oin
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/25833
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtMaryland Center for Undergraduate Research
dc.relation.isAvailableAtDigital Repository at the University of Maryland
dc.relation.isAvailableAtUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md)
dc.subjectPsychologyen_US
dc.subjectBSOSen_US
dc.subjectThe Maryland Child and Family Development Laben_US
dc.subjectattachment styleen_US
dc.subjectadolescent psychologyen_US
dc.subjectrisky behavioren_US
dc.titleThe Role of Attachment Style on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavioren_US
dc.typePresentationen_US

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