| The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between women's romantic attachment and their attitudes toward masturbation. Lesbian and heterosexual women's masturbatory attitudes were compared across two dimensions of romantic attachment: anxiety and avoidance. Four hypotheses were generated to predict the relationship among the primary variables of sexual orientation, romantic attachment, and attitudes toward masturbation. The research design for this study was non-experimental and was conducted online, the statistical design evaluated the hypotheses through a multiple regression analysis. The sample in this study consisted of 190 female participants, 98 heterosexual women and 92 lesbians. All participants were given a Pre-screening Questionnaire and Demographics Questionnaire designed by the Investigator, after which, participants completed the following five measures: the Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised Adult Attachment Questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, and Brennan, 2000) to measure romantic attachment anxiety and romantic attachment avoidance, the Negative Attitudes Toward Masturbation Inventory (Abramson and Mosher, 1975) to measure participants' attitudes toward masturbation, and the Paulhus Deception Scales - Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (Paulhus, 1994, 1988, 1991, 1998) to measure participants' potential socially desirable responding. Two of the four hypotheses were supported by the findings. Results of the analysis indicated that lesbians reported more positive attitudes toward masturbation than did heterosexual women. This finding suggests a need to further evaluate underlying differences between heterosexual women's and lesbians' masturbatory attitudes as potential functions of their differential responses to masturbatory fantasy, differences in their socialization and identity formation, and differences in their experiences of masturbation as they relate to their respective experiences of partner-sex. Results also indicated that women who reported higher romantic attachment anxiety demonstrated more negative attitudes toward masturbation than did women who reported lower romantic attachment anxiety. This finding suggests that further research is warranted to elucidate the processes by which romantic attachment anxiety interacts with masturbatory attitudes and possible qualitative differences between attitudes for oneself and attitudes for a potential or current partner. |
