Domestic Violence against women as victims of violence based on An attachment approach

The aim of this study was to examine the causal relationship between attachment styles and domestic violence in a group of married women. In this correlational study, 120 married women were selected from those who visited the Kuhsar neighborhood house in District 4 of Tehran using the available sampling method. The participants responded to the Attachment Styles Inventory (Hazan & Shaver, 1987) and the Violence Toward Women Inventory (Haj–Yahia, 2001).
The results indicated that the causal model, representing the direct effects of attachment styles on domestic violence, had a good fit with the data. In this hypothetical model, the relationship between secure attachment style and domestic violence was negative and significant, while the relationship between insecure/anxious and ambivalent attachment styles with domestic violence was positive and significant. Furthermore, the results showed that, in the hypothesized model, all path coefficients were statistically significant, and 56% of the variance in domestic violence scores was explained by women's attachment styles.
In summary, the findings of the present study, consistent with the tenets of attachment theory, suggested that the qualitative model of the relationship between the child and the primary caregiver, and subsequently the formation of internal working models that fundamentally govern one's view of oneself and the world, were influential in shaping secure and insecure forms of attachment styles in adults. Additionally, the results highlighted that attachment is one of the conceptual correlates of domestic violence against women, who are victims of violence.
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Keywords




Domestic Violence, Victims of Violence, Women
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‌Introduction
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2010; p. 11) as "behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling, coercive, repeated behaviors." A review of empirical evidence reveals that various researchers have attempted to explain the phenomenon of domestic violence by emphasizing the explanatory role of various factors, such as hostile communication schemas, coping strategies, and some personality traits like submissiveness and feelings of inferiority.
Attachment theory addresses the relationship between children and their caretakers, emphasizing how these relationships influence a child's self-concept and view of the world (Bowlby, 1988). According to the theory, it is through initial interactions with the primary caregiver (usually the mother or father) that individuals develop their own Internal Dynamic Model (IDM) about relationships. These cognitive orientations dictate how they should behave and generate expectations of how others should behave in relationships (Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Holland, Fraley, & Roisman, 2012), affecting later relationships, such as dating violence (Lee, Reese-Weber, & Kahn, 2014). Therefore, the attachment system remains important throughout an individual’s lifespan (Bowlby, 1988).
A child who experiences loving care tends to develop an IDM where they see themselves as worthy of love and expect others to behave in a trustworthy and loving way. Conversely, a child experiencing maltreatment and unpredictable care can develop an IDM where they see themselves as unworthy and expect others to be unpredictable and unreliable. Such individuals are more likely to have difficulty trusting others. These attachment experiences become internalized and are generalized to other relationships, shaping affect regulation. They influence how a person perceives and relates to their romantic partner, memory functions (what to remember or forget about partner's previous reactions), inferences, judgments, and decisions about their partner's attitudes. In essence, they translate into the way of thinking, feeling, and behaving in interpersonal contexts.
‌Methodology
The statistical sample of the present study included 120 women who were selected using an available sampling method. Measures: Violence Against Women Inventory (Haj–Yahia, 2001): In this research, a questionnaire measuring violence against women was used to study women's experience of domestic violence. This questionnaire contains 32 items. The similarity coefficient of the total score of the test was obtained as 0.82 in this research. Attachment Styles Inventory (Hazan & Shaver, 1987): This inventory contains 21 items and measures three attachment styles: secure, insecure/avoidant, and ambivalent/anxious. In this study, the internal consistency coefficients of secure, insecure/avoidant, and ambivalent/anxious attachment styles were obtained as 0.74, 0.71, and 0.75, respectively.
 
Findings
Results showed that the causal model of direct effects of attachment styles on domestic violence had a good fit to the data. Additionally, the results indicated that, in the hypothesized model, all path coefficients were statistically significant, and 56% of the dispersion of domestic violence scores was explained by women's attachment styles.
 
Results
The results related to the fit indices of the model for each index (χ2), (χ2/df), (CFI), (GFI), (AGFI), and (RMSEA) were obtained as 21.11, 2.64, 0.95, 0.95, 0.91, and 0.059, respectively (Figure 1).




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Figure 1. Relationship model of attachment styles with domestic violence
Reviewing the empirical evidence related to the explanatory role of attachment styles in predicting domestic violence shows that people with secure or insecure attachment styles use different coping methods when faced with conflicting interpersonal experiences. People with a secure attachment style, due to having cognitive representations of self-love and altruism and having rich coping resources, benefit from strategies to resolve conflicting experiences in the face of challenging interpersonal relationships, rather than using hostile methods. On the other hand, people with insecure attachment styles, who have a shaky self-concept and evaluate others and the world around them as uncertain, are more prone to display hostile and aggressive behaviors when faced with challenging interpersonal experiences due to a lack of skills.
The results of the present study, in line with the teachings of attachment theory, showed that the qualitative pattern of the relationship between the child and the first caregiver, and subsequently how the internal working models are formed—basically responsible for his view of himself and the surrounding world—in shaping secure and insecure forms of attachment styles in adults, were effective.