Southampton

Attachment and sexual self-views 2 Individual differences in attachment orientation influence the regulation of the sexual behavioural system in young adulthood. Two self-report studies examined the role of attachment in the link between sexual activity in the past year and current sexual self-views. Study 1 assessed casual sexual activity in a sample of young women. Casual sex was positively related to sexual-esteem among high-avoidant women, but negatively related to sexual-esteem and self-efficacy among low-avoidant women. Study 2 examined both casual sex and relationship-based sex in a mixed sex sample. The link between frequency of sex (casual or romantic) and sexual self-views depended on attachment orientation for women but was consistently positive for men. Findings reflect the affect-regulation strategies of adults with different attachment orientations