%0 Journal Article
%T Attachment Style, Empathy and Moral Foundations as Predictors of Attitudes Towards Sexual Behavior during Childhood
%A Tanaś, Łukasz
%A Stępień, Olga
%J Developmental Psychology
%V 2020
%R 10.4467/20843879PR.20.026.13434
%N Volume 25 Issue 4
%P 45-62
%K sexuality; attachment style; empathy; moral foundations
%@ 1895-6297
%D 2020
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/psychologia-rozwojowa/article/styl-wiezi-empatia-i-kody-moralne-jako-predyktory-postaw-wzgledem-zachowan-seksualnych-okresu-dziecinstwa
%X 
	The study explores the structure of adult (N = 170, Mage = 30) beliefs regarding the sexu­ality of preschool children (Ratkowska-Pasikowska, Pasikowski, 2013). Furthermore it evaluates the probable predictors of these beliefs: avoidance and anxiety dimensions of attachment, moral foundations and the levels of cognitive and affective empathy. Results show a two-factor differen­tiation of beliefs regarding children’s sexuality. Adults make a distinction between intrusive behav­iors, related to verbal aggression or potential violation of other people’s intimacy, and behaviors combining sexuality with curiosity and role-playing. The former category is generally less accepted than the latter. At the same time, higher level of cognitive empathy and a lower level of endorse­ment in the sphere of purity/sanctity as a foundation of moral evaluation, is a general predictor of higher acceptance of sexual behaviors in both categories. Higher level of attachment anxiety pre­dicts a higher acceptance of intrusive sexual behaviors, and a higher level of attachment avoidance predicts a lower acceptance of such behaviors. These results are discussed within the context of their importance for the future studies on childhood sexuality with parents as the potential inform­ants on behavior of their children.