College Students’ Perceptions of Romantic Relationships and Hooking Up as a Function of Attachment Styles, Memories of Parents’ Relationships, and College Hookup Culture

The present study investigates the relationships between college students’ childhood attachment styles to parental figures, adult attachment styles, and their motives for engaging in casual sex. The present study also investigates the relationships between childhood memories of the relationships between parents, childhood and adult attachment styles, and motivation for engaging in hooking up. A correlational design was conducted; 127 Connecticut College students each completed the Adult Scale of Parental Attachment - Short Form (ASPA-SF), the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAA), and the Hookup Motives Questionnaire (HMQ). Additionally, participants reported three memories that took place before the age of 10, involving their parents interacting with each other or the participant, and rated each memory on their feelings of positivity and negativity. Significant results were found between the childhood and adult attachment styles, as well as attachment styles and motives for hooking up. Overall, childhood attachments that reflected secure and affirming parental relationships were related to close adult attachment styles and hooking up motives that reflected a desire for enduring relationships and pleasurable social interactions. On the other hand, distant and fearful childhood attachments were more likely to be linked to anxious adult attachments and motives for hooking up that focus on reducing negative feeling states and efforts to fit in with peers. No significant results were found for the self-reported memories. Specific significant results, as well as the implications of attachment styles and their influence on motives for hooking up, are discussed