Date

9-25-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Laura Beiler

Keywords

casual sex, attachment style, anxious, avoidant, sexual gratification, survey questionnaire, Scripture

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Health institutions have reported that women of middle-age continue to enjoy sexual activity. As such, women who engage in casual sex may or may not have developed emotional attachments to their partners, which may impact sexual gratification. Attachment theory proposes that attachment style is either secure or insecure, such as anxious or avoidant. This study investigated the relationship between insecure attachment style and sexual gratification among women between 40-50 years of age who engaged in casual sex. To answer these questions, the Adult Attachment Scale (AAQ) questionnaire was used to measure anxious and avoidant attachment, the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-R) was a subscale utilized to measure attachment style, and the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W) measured sexual gratification. The resulting scores for 105 participants showed a statistically significant negative correlation between insecure attachment style and sexual gratification. A multiple regression analysis showed that anxious attachment did not significantly moderate the relationship between casual sex engagement and sexual gratification, while avoidant attachment style did significantly moderate that relationship. The study provided a meaningful exploration into how insecure attachment styles affect intimate relationships in adulthood, which laid the groundwork for future studies to explore the patterns stemming from childhood relationships with caregivers.

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