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Adult Attachment As A Risk Factor For Intimate Partner Violence: The “Mispairing” Of Partners’ Attachment Styles, Diana Doumas, Christine L. Pearson, Jenna E. Elgin, Lisa L. Mckinley

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and adult attachment in a sample of 70 couples. The attachment style of each partner and the interaction of the partners' attachment styles were examined as predictors of intimate partner violence. Additional analyses were conducted to examine violence reciprocity and to explore differences in the relationship between attachment and violence using continuous and dichotomous violence measures. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated the "mispairing" of an avoidant male partner with an anxious female partner was associated with both male and female violence. When controlling for partner violence, the relationship between attachment …