Abstract
This study examined the relationships between childhood attachment and coercive sexual behavior. One hundred sixty-two male undergraduate students completed self-report measures of childhood maternal attachment, childhood paternal attachment, adult attachment, antisociality, aggression, and coercive sexual behavior. As predicted, insecure childhood attachment, especially insecure paternal attachment, was associated with antisociality, aggression, and coercive sexual behavior. Moreover, childhood attachment independently predicted coercive sexual behavior after antisociality and aggression were statistically controlled. The hypothesis that paternal avoidant attachment would predict coercive sexual behavior independently of its relationship with aggression and antisociality was also supported. Posthoc analysis indicated that maternal anxious attachment was associated with antisociality and that paternal avoidant attachment was associated with both antisociality and coercive sexual behavior. These results are consistent with criminological and psychological research linking adverse early family experiences with offending and lend support to an attachment-theoretical framework for understanding offending behavior in general and sexual offending behavior in particular.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Belsky, J. (1996). Parent, infant, and social-contextual antecedents of father-son attachment security. Developmental Psychology, 32, 905–913.
Belsky, J., Campbell, S. B., Cohn, J. F., & Moore, G. (1996). Instability of infant-parent attachment security. Developmental Psychology, 32, 921–924.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
Bretherton, I. (1991). The roots and growing points of attachment theory. In C.M. Parkes, J. Stevenson-Hinde, & P. Marris (Eds.), Attachment across the life cycle. (pp. 9–32). London: Routledge.
Burgess, A.W., Hartman, C. R., & McCormack, A. (1987). Abused to abuser: Antecedents of socially deviant behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1431–1436.
Collins, N. L., & Read, S. J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 644–663.
Constantino, J. N. (1996). Intergenerational aspects of the development of aggression: A preliminary report. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 17, 176–182.
Dwyer, S. M., & Amberson, J. I. (1989). Behavioral patterns and personality characteristics of 56 sex offenders: A preliminary study. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 105–118.
Farrington, D. P. (1994). Childhood, adolescent, and adult features of violent males. In L. R. Huesmann (Ed.), Aggressive behavior: Current perspectives. (pp. 215–240). New York: Plenum.
Feeney, J. A., & Noller, P. (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 281–291.
Fonagy, P., Target, M., Steele, M., Steele, H., Leigh, T., Levinson, A., & Kennedy, R. (1997). Morality, disruptive behavior, borderline personality disorder, crime, and their relationships to security of attachment. In L. Artkinson & K. J. Zucker (Eds.), Attachment and psychopathology. (pp. 223–274). New York: Guilford.
Fox, N. A., Kimmerly, N. L., & Schafer, W. D. (1991). Attachment to mother/attachment to father: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 62, 210–225.
George, C., Kaplan, M.,& Main, M. (1984). Attachment interview for adults, Unpublished manuscript. Berkeley: University of California.
Griffin, D.W., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). The metaphysics of measurement: The case of adult attachment. In K. Bartholomew & D. Perlman (Eds.), Attachment processes in adulthood (pp. 17–52). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.
Hazan, C., & Zeifman, D. (1994). Sex and the psychological tether. In K. Bartholomew & D. Perlman (Eds.), Attachment processes in adulthood (pp. 151–178). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Jones, E. E. (1996). Introduction to the special section on attachment and psychopathology: Part 1. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 5–7.
Koss, M. P., & Gidycz, C. A. (1985). Sexual experiences survey: Reliability and validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 422–423.
Koss, M. P.,& Oros, C. J. (1982). Sexual experiences survey:Aresearch instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 455–457.
Lamb, M. E. (1997). The development of father-infant relationships. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (pp. 104–120). New York: Wiley & Sons.
Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.) (1998). Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lyons-Ruth, K. (1996). Attachment relationships among children with aggressive behavior problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 64–73.
Main, M., & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents' unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status: Is frightened and/or frightening parental behavior the linking mechanism? In M. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years (pp. 161–182). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Marcus, R. F., & Betzer, P. D. S. (1996). Attachment and antisocial behavior in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 16, 229–248.
Malamuth, N. M. (1986). Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 953–962.
Marshall, W. L. (1989). Intimacy, loneliness, and sex offenders. Behavior Research and Therapy, 27, 491–503.
Marshall, W. L. (1993). The role of attachment, intimacy, and loneliness in the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending. Sexual and Marital Therapy, 8, 109–121.
Marshall, W. L., & Barbaree H. E. (1990). An integrated theory of the etiology of sexual offending. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 257–275). New York: Plenum.
Millon, T., Millon, C., & Davis, R. (1994). The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory manual, 3rd ed. Minneapolis: National Computer Systems.
Pithers, W. D., Beal, L. S., Armstrong, J., & Petty, J. (1989). Identification of risk factors through clinical interviews and analysis of records. In D. R. Laws (Ed.), Relapse prevention with sex offenders (pp. 77–87). New York: Guilford Press.
Polaschek, D. L. L., Ward, T., & Hudson, S. M. (1997). Rape and rapists: Theory and treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 117–144.
Porter, J. F., & Critelli, J. W. (1992). Measurement of sexual aggression in college men: A methodological analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 21, 525–542.
Rada, R. T. (1978). Clinical aspects of the rapist. New York: Grune & Sratton.
Segal, Z. V., & Stermac, L. E. (1990). The role of cognition in sexual assault. In W. L. Marshall & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 161–174). New York: Plenum.
Shaver, P. (1994, August). Attachment, caregiving, and sex in adult romantic relationships. Paper presented to the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.
Smallbone, S.W., & Dadds, M. R. (1998). Childhood attachment and adult attachment in incarcerated adult male sex offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 555–573.
Ward, T., Hudson, S. M., Marshall, W. L., & Siegert, R. (1995). Attachment style and intimacy deficits in sexual offenders:Atheoretical framework. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 7, 317–335.
Ward, T., Hudson, S. M., & Marshall, W. L. (1996). Attachment style in sex offenders: A preliminary study. The Journal of Sex Research, 33, 17–26.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smallbone, S.W., Dadds, M.R. Attachment and Coercive Sexual Behavior. Sex Abuse 12, 3–15 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009555619323
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009555619323