This work has involved valuable contributions from many people. First and foremost, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my main supervisor, Professor Solveig Karin Bø Vatnar, for sharing her extensive scientific knowledge with me, for her patient guidance in large and small matters, for attending and supporting the work, and for thoughtful facilitation at crossroads. Years ago, she presented from her own PhD study results that stimulated my clinical work and academic curiosity. Later she guided my clinical inquiries into academic research and became the project leader and the best supervisor I could have wished for. The present work would have been neither initiated nor completed without her clear thought and kind heart. I am deeply grateful to all the women who volunteered to take part in this study. It took traveling, baby sitters, hours spent in an interview, and extensive recollection right in the middle of a demanding period of their lives. In addition to appreciating their participation, I admit to being encouraged by their support for more research in this field.

Empirical knowledge regarding risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) from multiple partners (MP) is scarce and sought by clinicians and many women themselves for the prevention of future intimate partner violence relationships (IPVRs). Quantitative data were obtained through a structured interview with a stratified sample of help-seeking women ( N = 154) with no ( n = 48, 0IPVR), one ( n = 55, 1IPVR), or multiple ( n = 51, 2IPVR) IPVRs. This study investigated the association between (a) childhood family violence, (b) other childhood adversities, (c) victimization and perpetration of IPV in the last (index) relationship, and (d) controlling sociodemographic and contextual variables, and the following dependent variables: (a) women with 1IPVR and 2IPVR compared with 0IPVR and (b) women with 1IPVR compared with 2IPVR. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that, compared with nonvictimized women, IPV victimized women were nearly three times more likely to report childhood sexual abuse. They also reported a higher frequency of peer victimization and a higher likelihood of having an immigrant partner. In addition, the length of the index relationship was shorter for IPV victimized women. Compared with women with 1IPVR, women with IPV by MP were more likely to report childhood emotional abuse and less education, and they were less likely to be immigrants. The two groups of IPV victimized women were indistinguishable regarding characteristics of victimization and perpetration of IPV. This study indicated that there were other risk factors for IPV by MP than for IPV in general and highlighted the importance of addressing parenting and emotional care in IPV families.

This cross-sectional study compared attachment characteristics among women victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV) in no, one, and multiple relationships ( N = 154). Results indicated that compared with the nonvictimized, victimized women had increased likelihood of higher attachment avoidance. Compared with women victimized in one relationship, women victimized in multiple relationships had higher likelihood of higher attachment anxiety scores. Adjusting for childhood adversities, childhood sexual abuse was an independent risk factor for IPV. Childhood emotional abuse mediated the association between attachment anxiety and IPV victimization in multiple relationships in particular. Attachment theory appeared useful for better understanding women’s vulnerability for multiple violent relationships.