NCJ Number
240353
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 17 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2012 Pages: 475-481
Date Published
October 2012
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper examines primary sources of attachment insecurity which is a major psychological predictor of intimate partner violence.
Abstract
The authors argue that human attachment encompasses a broad spectrum of attachment insecurities including fearful and preoccupied attachment style, negative emotionality (NEM), and borderline personality organization (BPO). These, in turn, have a developing literature to link them as causative factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) in both adolescents and adults. These broad spectrum attachment disorders constitute the major psychological predictor of IPV. Direct assessments indicate that they increase the likelihood of aggression in adolescents and intimate partner violence in adults. Some of the proposed mechanisms increasing aggression in insecurely attached people include alterations in the appraisal of threat due to an inability to call on memories of parental support and diminished ability to implement affective controls and impulsivity. (Published Abstract)