Michelle Hammon, Lyndsey Craig, RonJai Staton, Christy Fiscer, Tina Brough, Zachary Olson, Deborah
Decker, and Justin Nuckles, Dixie State University
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Beliefs and expectations about romantic relationships play an important role in an individual’s sexual attitudes and behavior. Sexual literacy, including accurate sexual knowledge, experience, and ease of individual sexuality, informs healthy sexual attitudes and behavior. Research suggests sexual literacy is associated with sexual attitudes and behaviors. Attachment representations, sexual literacy, sexual attitudes and behaviors were assessed through an online survey administered to individuals over the age of 18. Participants with low sexual literacy scores were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior and had more negative sexual attitudes compared to individuals with higher sexual literacy scores. Anxious ambivalent and avoidant attachment representations were associated with negative sexual attitudes and risky sexual behavior. Results suggest the inclusion of attachment representation awareness in sexual education may promote healthy sexual behaviors.