Attachment, Emotion Dysregulation, and Physical IPV in Predominantly Hispanic, Young Adult Couples

Abstract

Insecure attachment has been found to be a risk factor for perpetrating physical intimate partner violence (IPV). However, this association is likely exacerbated by additional factors, such as conflicting insecure attachment in one’s partner and difficulties with overall emotion regulation and impulse control. The present study aimed to examine the associations between insecure attachment and physical IPV perpetration in male and female partners, as well as to examine whether these associations are exacerbated by involvement with a partner with opposing attachment needs and overall emotion dysregulation and impulsivity. Additionally, this study examined whether partners’ emotion dysregulation interacted to predict IPV. Two hundred eight heterosexual couples primarily recruited from a Hispanic-serving university completed questionnaires on attachment, emotion dysregulation, and one’s own and one’s partner’s perpetration. Results revealed that attachment anxiety, impulsivity, and an interaction effect between attachment avoidance and partner’s attachment anxiety were associated with self-reported, but not partner-reported, male perpetration. For females, attachment anxiety was associated with female IPV (self-reported and partner-reported), and impulsivity was associated with self-reported female IPV. Overall, results underscore how relationships between known risk factors and IPV perpetration may differ depending on if IPV perpetration is measured using self-reported or partner-reported data. Additional results and implications are discussed.

Risk Factors of Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence among Hispanic Young Adults: Attachment Style, Emotional Dysregulation, and Negative Childhood Experiences

“…These findings are consistent with previous reports with non-clinical samples that indicate most IPV occurrences are bidirectional [ 17 , 67 ] and that women who report unilateral victimization represent a lower percentage of women involved in violent relationships [ 21 ]. Findings are also consistent with studies showing that emotional regulation [ 43 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] and attachment difficulties are implicated in both perpetration and victimization of violence [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 68 ]. More specifically, the findings from this study support an association between avoidant attachment and perpetration and anxious attachment and victimization in young adult Hispanic females.…”

“…In contrast, Miga et al [ 42 ] did not find this attachment style related to such violence. However, other factors, such as interactions of different attachment styles may be at play, as illustrated by research that showed that attachment anxiety, impulsivity, and an interaction effect between attachment avoidance and partner′s attachment anxiety were associated with self-reported, but not partner-reported, male perpetration [ 43 ].…”

“…Over time, difficulties in emotion regulation may manifest in behavioral problems and disorders associated with IPV perpetration, such as antisocial personality disorder [ 45 , 46 ], borderline personality disorder [ 46 , 47 , 48 ], and depression [ 49 , 50 ]. Various studies have found emotion regulation difficulties to be positively associated with IPV perpetration [ 51 , 52 ], including studies with young adults in romantic relationships [ 43 , 53 , 54 ]. Due to the substantial evidence demonstrating the importance of the role of emotion regulation in IPV perpetration, it is important to investigate how it may affect female perpetrators.…”

Internalized Homonegativity, Emotion Dysregulation, and Isolating Behaviors Perpetration among Gay and Lesbian Couples

“…A mutual influence between couple relationship dynamics and individual emotion regulation has been documented by several scholars [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. Violent behaviors may be seen as a way of avoiding taking contact with uncomfortable emotions regarding one’s intimate relationship and as a distance-regulating mechanism [ 84 , 85 ]. In this sense, isolating behaviors can be seen as a dysfunctional strategy used to control the degree of closeness within the couple′s relationship and thus regulate negative affect that can result from an imbalance between closeness and separation, to which people with low levels of emotional dysregulation can be more vulnerable.…”

Alexithymia and Insecure Attachment among Male Intimate Partner Violence Aggressors in the Dominican Republic

“…The present study aims to study whether attachment styles could be a risk factor for alexithymia in male perpetrators of IPV confined in the Center for Behavioral Intervention for Male Aggressors in the Dominican Republic. As violence is also usually mediated by several factors, especially the quality of the parental relationship [ 10 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], the influence of this relationship has been also studied. Likewise, it intends to establish the socio-demographic profile of abusers with alexithymia in comparison with the non-alexithymia abuser‘s group.…”