In this study, attachment theory was applied to three samples: male university students (controls), male nonoffending victims of sexual assault, and convicted male pedophiles. Adult attachment styles are investigated along with developmental histories of neglect, punishment, and sexual and physical abuse. It is proposed that adult attachment styles will differ among the pedophiles and the other two groups, and the duration of participants’ adult sexual relationships would vary with the amount of sexual and other trauma that they reported experiencing as young people. If these were confirmed, it would indicate that attachment style was a significant factor in the developmental history of pedophiles and male victims of sexual assault. The results of this study indicated that the victims and controls experienced more security of attachment than the pedophiles, who were found to have an insecure attachment style. Victims and pedophiles were found to have experienced similar levels of early abuse and trauma.

This paper explored the transactional nature of carer attachment, proposing that carer insecure attachment may influence the development of psychopathology and resilience in Young People (YP) experiencing psychosis or depression. Seventy-five matched carer and YP dyads were grouped according to the YP diagnosis, psychosis forty-three and depression thirty-two. YP and carers completed an attachment protocol, Attachment Style Questionnaire and the YP's scores on the Ego-Resiliency Scale measured resilience. Diagnosis of Depression was associated with low YP resilience and high carer insecure (avoidant) attachment. Diagnosis of Psychosis was associated with high YP resilience and insecure (anxious) carer attachment. The results are plausibly explained by the type of carer insecure attachment combining with the YP's level of resilience to influence development of psychopathology in YP. If so, the assessment of carer attachment is likely to provide insights into the interpersonal transactions that influence resilience in YP experiencing Mental Health problems.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the use of coping styles in pedophiles (n = 25) and how that use might differ in nonoffending victims (n = 22) and a control group from the general population (n = 23). The Ways of Coping Questionnaire is employed for this purpose.The results indicate significant differences. The pedophiles, although employing positive coping strategies with the same frequency as the other two groups, also employ significantly more negative coping strategies than the other two groups; namely, escape-avoidance, distancing, and confrontive coping. The victims use escape-avoidance more frequently than the controls but less frequently than the pedophiles, but primarily they use positive coping strategies to deal with their interpersonal problems. These findings are discussed in terms of the difficulties that the use of negative coping strategies combined with insecure attachment could cause in the development of a therapeutic relationship. Psychological approaches for engaging pedophiles in treatment are also discussed.