Attachment, Negative Emotionally, and Intimate Partner Violence

Event Center A&B

The present study examined the claim that negative emotionality (NEM) plays a key mediating role in the relationship between attachment security and risk of becoming a victim or perpetrator of intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires: the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) assessing an individual’s adult romantic attachment style, the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS-2) measuring the incidence of aggression and violence in an individual’s relationship, i.e., their risk for IPV, and the NEM scale of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-276) measuring an individual’s level of NEM. There were a total of 507 participants (449 Female, 58 Male). We expected individuals with an insecure adult attachment style to rate higher on the NEMMPQ-276 and the CTS-2 than individuals with a secure adult attachment style, indicating higher NEM and risk for IPV in insecure individuals. We also expected that individuals rating higher on the NEMMPQ-276 will have higher rating on the CTS-2. Finally, we expected that the relationship between attachment style and IPV would be partially-to-fully mediated by NEM. Consistent with the study hypothesis, Intimate Partner Violence perpetration and Intimate Partner Violence victimization can be predicted by an individual’s Attachment style and their level of Negative Emotionality. Participants that had an insecure attachment style had higher level of negative emotionality and were more likely to be a victim or perpetrator of IPV than participants with a secure attachment style. NEM was also associated with risk for IPV.