2012

Historically, attachment research has focused on relationships between children and caregivers. Research demonstrates that attachment style developed in childhood impacts adult romantic relationships. This paper asserts that in a romantic relationship, both members of a couple bring attachment styles that reciprocally impact sexual functioning. The resulting attachment style developed within the couple can interfere with a full sexual response cycle which can decrease an individual’s capacity to enjoy or participate in sexual intercourse thus resulting in sexual dysfunction (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Therefore, counseling for sexual dysfunction necessitates the involvement of both partners, assessment of their attachment styles, and the creation, or enhancement, of the couple’s attachment system.