Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Exposure To Abuse And Violence In Childhood On Adult Attachment And Domestic Violence In Women’S Same-Sex Relationships, Dawn M. Beatty

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

There is an abundance of previous research proving that childhood abuse and adult domestic violence is an increasingly serious problem (Smith Slep, & O’Leary, 2005). However, while studies have shown that lesbian intimate battering occurs as frequently, if not more than, heterosexual domestic violence (Gosselin, [ARF1] 2003; Niolon, 2002), it remains understudied. Therefore, this study not only examines the relationship between childhood abuse and intimate lesbian violence but also secure and insecure attachment styles. Children who witness domestic violence or who are victims of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse are likely to repeat or engage in violent relationships later …