The Influence of Attachment on Adolescents Who Have Sexually Abused: A Conversation with Michael Miner

---

Dr. Michael Miner, Emeritus Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota, discusses his research addressing adolescent males who have engaged in sexual violence. The projects — undertaken during Dr. Miner’s time at the Institute of Sexual and Gender Health — are grounded in attachment theory, a psychological conceptualization of how one’s childhood experiences with primary caregivers influence interpersonal relationships and behavior throughout one’s life.

During the webinar, Dr. Miner discusses empirical models that have emerged from this grounding that can lead to sexually harmful behavior, including:

• interpersonal experiences during childhood and adolescence,
• conceptualizations of masculinity and beliefs about one’s masculinity, and
• sexual addiction or compulsive sexual behavior

Dr. Miner explains these models and discusses them within the context of sexual abuse prevention, as well as the management and treatment of those who have committed sexual harm. He then addresses the assessment, treatment, and management of adolescents and young adult males.

---

Michael Miner, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota

Michael Miner is Emeritus Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota.  He began his sexual violence research work in California’s Sex Offender Treatment and Evaluation Project and, since joining the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (previously the Program in Human Sexuality: PHS), his research has focused on the etiology of sexual abuse perpetration in adolescence, risk assessment, and sexual compulsivity. Dr. Miner coordinated adult sexual offender treatment until 2008 and forensic assessment services until 2020. He is Past President of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and past Vice President of the International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders.  Dr. Miner was on several editorial boards before retiring and continues on the editorial board of Sexual Abuse.  He served as Associate Editor of Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment until 2015 and received ATSA’s Lifetime Significant Achievement Award in 2020.