Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Equine-Assisted Activities On The Attachment Security Of Abused Women, Ilana B. Silver

Honors College

The present study was designed to explore the impact of equine-assisted activities on attachment security among women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Attachment security was assessed at three different time points using the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998), which measures attachment on two separate scales of anxiety and avoidance. Proximity maintenance, one of the components of an attachment figure, was assessed using coded video data of the interaction between horse and participant during their first meeting and goodbye. Five women who self-reported experiencing domestic abuse were recruited for this study, of whom four …