1 / 9

Attachment Styles, Oxytocin and Sexual Offenders

Attachment Styles, Oxytocin and Sexual Offenders. by Norma Gonzalez Northeastern Illinois University. Background. Evidence that problematic adult attachment styles stems from problematic childhood attachment development which has been implicated with decreased oxytocin levels.

oya
Download Presentation

Attachment Styles, Oxytocin and Sexual Offenders

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Attachment Styles, Oxytocin and Sexual Offenders by Norma Gonzalez Northeastern Illinois University

  2. Background • Evidence that problematic adult attachment styles stems from problematic childhood attachment development which has been implicated with decreased oxytocin levels. B. Evidence that sexual abuse offenders have problematic adult attachment styles which suggests that there is a connection between oxytocin levels and the sexual abuse.

  3. Two Studies Methods • Literature review • Human and non-human subjects

  4. A. Study 1. Carter (1998).Neuroendocrine Perspectives on Social Attachment and Love. • Attachment development • Caretaker-child bonding/attachment • Adult relationships/attachment and oxytocin levels

  5. Study 2. Beech & Mitchell (2004). A Neurobiological Perspective on Attachment Problems in Sexual Offenders and the Role of Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors in the Treatment of Such Problems. • Attachment development • Caretaker-child bonding/attachment • Adult relationships/attachment

  6. Problematic parental relationships and insecure attachment styles in sexual offending • Preoccupied style/child sexual contact. • Dismissing style/violent sexual abuse of women. • Fearful/disorganized style /nonviolent sexual offense of women or children.

  7. Child nonviolent violent sex offender sex offender sex offender • Preoccupied 30% 17% 21% • Dismissive 14% 13% 22% • Fearful/disorganized 27% 59% 17% (N=29) (N=30) (N=30) Attachment style categories are based on scores on the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998).

  8. Conclusions: • Insecure attachment styles associated with lower levels of oxytocin and sexual offenders. • Suggested connection between low oxytocin levels and sexual offense.

  9. Implications and Questions for future studies • Early intervention in problematic parental relationships and insecure attachment styles in sexual offending • Would increase in oxytocin levels paired with socially acceptable relationships eventually decrease sexual offense desires in sexual offenders? • How else is decreased oxytocin level expressed other than sexual offense? • Is decreased oxytocin level expressed in females the same as in males?

More Related