USING ATTACHMENT THEORY TO STUDY MOTHER-DAUGHTER COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX

Sexual education of adolescents through parent-child communication has been shown to increase safe sexual behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of attachment styles and breadth and depth of communication on mother-daughter communication about sex. Daughters (N = 75) ages 19 to 68 completed an online questionnaire asking about their previous conversations about sex with their mothers. The results showed that daughters with a secure attachment style talked about significantly more sexual health topics and in greater depth than those with an anxious/ambivalent attachment. It was also found that daughters who frequently communicated about love and marriage with their mothers had fewer sexual partners. The results from this study point to the importance of the interaction between attachment style and frequent, in depth conversations about sexual health topics between mothers and daughters.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Vocelle, Cecile

• Attachment

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57190

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/57190