Attachment and sexuality during adolescence: interaction, integration, or interference?

In this paper the authors apply both research and clinical investigations to explore the linkages between attachment organization and sexual maturation and development in adolescence. The interrelations between attachment and sexuality development in adolescence are discussed in the light of clinical material. The authors present a case study of three teen age girls involved in a situation of alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by a group of male adolescents. In order to assess their internal working models of attachment and intergenerational transmission, the teen age girls and their mothers have been administered respectively the Attachment Interview for Childhood and Adolescence (AICA) and the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Clinical material is discussed in terms of the impact of dysfunctional attachment experiences, either massively neglecting or excessively involving, and unresolved losses on the emergence of early and promiscuous sexuality behaviors.