Men's Sexual Coerciveness, Perceptions of Women's Attachment, and Dating Preferences

This study examined whether sexually coercive men are uniquely drawn to certain attachment styles in women. Specifically, it employed an experimental design to investigate what sorts of inferences men draw about women based on women's attachment styles and whether a woman's attachment style may serve as an indicator of vulnerability, rendering sexually coercive men more attracted to some women than to others. One-hundred thirty-six college men completed a measure of sexual coerciveness and answered questions about personal ads experimentally manipulated for portrayed attachment style. Findings suggest that sexually coercive men may be more attracted to women with characteristics associated with sexual vulnerability. Additionally, men perceive women differently based on their attachment styles, and sexually coercive men may perceive women differently than do other men.