ABSTRACT
With the importance now being given to attachment theory within psychoanalytic theory, the traditional concept that libido (i.e., sexuality) fuels our development and drives the development of our relations with others has been called into question. It is less clear than it once was that sexual passion is at the base of all developmental lines. An alternative theory is that attachment has its own developmental impetus. This chapter explores the evidence for these different approaches to attachment and sexuality in the psychoanalytic literature and related fields including neurobiology. Brief clinical examples highlight how these two aspects may conflict with or support each other psychodynamically.
