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What Makes for Good Sex? The Associations Among Attachment Style, Inhibited Communication and Sexual Satisfaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2014

Clautilde B. Khoury  and
Bruce M. Findlay
Clautilde B. Khoury
Affiliation:
Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Bruce M. Findlay*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Dr Bruce Findlay, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia. Email: bfindlay@swin.edu.au
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that those with insecure attachments (characterised by anxiety, avoidance or both; Hazan & Shaver, 1994), would engage in less effective communication on sexual matters, which would in turn predict lower sexual satisfaction. A sample of 125 participants aged between 18 and 65 completed an online questionnaire asking about their sexual and intimate relationships, and their attachment patterns. As expected, avoidant individuals reported poorer sexual communication, which contributed to their sexual dissatisfaction. Contrary to expectations, anxiety did not have this effect. Interestingly, those anxious individuals in a relationship of 9 months or longer engaged in poorer sexual communication, which negatively impacted their sexual satisfaction. It was suggested that the ‘honeymoon period’ may be responsible for this finding. Alternatively, and as suggested by Davis et al. (2006), other variables, such as sexual anxiety and using sex as a barometer of relationship status, may account for this effect and warrant further exploration.

Keywords

attachmentsexual satisfactionsexual communication
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 5 , 2014 , e7
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

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