Attachment: The Impact Attachment Style has on Experiencing Safety, Connection, and Active Participation in Intimate and Sexual Relationships
Attachment: The Impact Attachment Style has on Experiencing Safety, Connection, and Active Participation in Intimate and Sexual Relationships
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Issue Date
2024-09-01
Authors
Lauener, Victoria
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Abstract
Ones attachment style and early life experience play an integral role in the development of safe, secure, meaningful, and satisfying intimate and sexual relationship later in life. The review of research in this capstone explores the impact of insecure attachment styles on individuals' ability to participate actively and experience safety in intimate and sexual relationships. Drawing from attachment theory and trauma-informed perspectives, such as Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 1995) the study examines how early childhood experiences and relational traumas, including emotional neglect and childhood sexual abuse, shape attachment styles and affect adult relationships. Discussions in Chapter Two through the interpretation of Polyvagal Theory highlights the significant role of the autonomic nervous system has on regulating emotional responses and safety perceptions in relationships, emphasizing the importance of creating emotional safety for individuals with insecure attachments in their relationships with an emphasis on intimate and sexual relationships. Chapter Two of this capstone also considers the social and systemic barriers to developing safe, healthy, and mutually satisfying relationships and provides practical recommendations for clinicians and individuals to foster secure attachments and emotional safety through attachment-based interventions. This capstone aims to enhance understanding and raise awareness of the impacts that insecure
attachment styles and trauma have on an individual's experience of safety, active participation, and satisfaction in intimate and sexual relationships. Finally, offering readers and clinicians hope for healing, growth, and the rewiring of autonomic responses through the application of attachment-based and trauma-informed interventions.
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Keywords
attachment , relationships , safety , trauma , sex