Adult Attachment Styles, Destructive Conflict Resolution, and the Experience of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Although there is ample evidence linking insecure attachment styles and intimate partner violence (IPV), little is known about the psychological processes underlying this association, especially from the victim's perspective. The present study examined how attachment styles relate to the experience of sexual and psychological abuse, directly or indirectly through destructive conflict resolution strategies, both self-reported and attributed to their opposite-sex romantic partner. In an online survey, 216 Spanish undergraduates completed measures of adult attachment style, engagement and withdrawal conflict resolution styles shown by self and partner, and victimization by an intimate partner in the form of sexual coercion and psychological abuse. As predicted, anxious and avoidant attachment styles were directly related to both forms of victimization. Also, an indirect path from anxious attachment to IPV victimization was detected via destructive conflict resolution strategies. Specifically, anxiously attached participants reported a higher use of conflict engagement by themselves and by their partners. In addition, engagement reported by the self and perceived in the partner was linked to an increased probability of experiencing sexual coercion and psychological abuse. Avoidant attachment was linked to higher withdrawal in conflict situations, but the paths from withdrawal to perceived partner engagement, sexual coercion, and psychological abuse were non-significant. No gender differences in the associations were found. The discussion highlights the role of anxious attachment in understanding escalating patterns of destructive conflict resolution strategies, which may increase the vulnerability to IPV victimization.

Intimidade e apego no namoro: implicações de estudos de caso para prevenção à violência

“…Nesta linha, estudos sobre a qualidade das relações de namoro fundamentados na teoria do apego, de Bowlby (1997), podem contribuir para a compreensão do que protege as relações íntimas de se tornarem violentas. De fato, esta teoria tem sido considerada, ao lado da teoria da aprendizagem social e de teorias feministas (Shorey et al, 2008), como uma das teorias mais frutíferas para a compreensão da violência no namoro (Bonache et al, 2016;Bonache et al, 2017) e da Sheila Giardini Murta, Manuella Rabelo Porto Pires, Andrea Schettino Tavares, Mariana Amado Cordeiro, Estela Guida Teixeira, Natássia Adorno __________________________________________________________________________________________ 207 qualidade das relações de namoro (Riggs et al, 2011;Tan et al, 2016) e conjugais (Mosmann et al, 2006). Bowlby (1997) definiu apego como um mecanismo básico, biologicamente programado e indispensável à sobrevivência, que tem por finalidade obter proximidade de uma figura protetora em situações estressoras.…”

“…Evidências indicam que adolescentes com estilos de apego inseguros tendem a utilizar estratégias de manejo de conflito mais destrutivas e são mais frequentemente vítimas de violência no namoro do que adolescentes seguramente apegados (Bonache et al, 2016;Bonache et al, 2017). Adolescentes altamente ansiosos tendem a usar de ataques, críticas e explosões emocionais como estratégia para obter suporte e cuidado ou, ainda, silenciar-se e retrair-se em situações de conflito por receio de rejeição pelo parceiro.…”

“…Já adolescentes altamente esquivos tendem a usar de comunicação evasiva, evitação de discordâncias e afastamento de situações conflitivas. Entretanto, quando em conflitos crescentes com escalada da violência, podem fazer uso de estratégias hostis de manejo de conflito para distanciar-se do parceiro (Bonache et al, 2016 Ainda que seja crescente a produção nacional sobre estudos voltados para a qualidade das relações amorosas (Mosmann et al, 2010;Rizzon et al, 2013;Scheeren et al, 2015;Scheeren et al, 2014), parecem inexistir estudos com amostras brasileiras que examinam a intimidade em relações de namoro entre jovens casais, predominando estudos com casais mais velhos em união estável e casamento. Ademais, considerando o pequeno número de iniciativas preventivas à violência no namoro no Brasil Murta et al, 2014;Murta et al, 2016;Priolo Filho, 2017;) e a necessidade de desenvolver programas teoricamente embasados, culturalmente sensíveis e apoiados em evidências acerca de fatores que protegem a qualidade das relações afetivas entre jovens, propõe-se o presente estudo, de cunho qualitativo, com o objetivo de examinar vivências de intimidade em relações de namoro.…”

Dating SOS: a systematic and theory-based development of a web-based tailored intervention to prevent dating violence among Brazilian youth

“…Although this theory has been extensively used to explain how attachment may explain the process leading to intimate partner violence [35] and prevention to dating violence [36], its use in CTI to this end has not yet been recorded. The choice of attachment theory to base Dating SOS upon resides in the evidence that adolescents with insecure affective bonding styles tend to use more destructive conflict management strategies and are more frequently victims of dating violence than those securely attached [37,38]. Evidence from a study of a Brazilian sample with couples in various stages of romantic relationships corroborates these findings [39].…”

“…High levels of anxiety manifest themselves in vigilance for signs of partner distancing as well as elevated investment in maintaining closeness by compulsively searching for support, which can overwhelm partners [40,43] and translate into violent outbursts in addition to indifference, threats, insults, and possessiveness. Secure attachment is a protective factor for the quality of romantic relationships [44], while insecure attachment is one of the risk factors for dating violence, contributing to deficient emotional regulation [41] and conflict resolution abilities [38,39].…”