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. 2021 Dec;27(15-16):2945-2970.
doi: 10.1177/1077801220981157. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Attachment Characteristics Among Women Victimized in No, One, and Multiple IPV Relationships: A Case-Control Study

Elisabeth Christie Ørke  1 , Stål Bjørkly  1   2 , Mariana Dufort  3 , Solveig Karin Bø Vatnar  1   2
Affiliations

Attachment Characteristics Among Women Victimized in No, One, and Multiple IPV Relationships: A Case-Control Study

Elisabeth Christie Ørke et al. Violence Against Women. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

This cross-sectional study compared attachment characteristics among women victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV) in no, one, and multiple relationships (N = 154). Results indicated that compared with the nonvictimized, victimized women had increased likelihood of higher attachment avoidance. Compared with women victimized in one relationship, women victimized in multiple relationships had higher likelihood of higher attachment anxiety scores. Adjusting for childhood adversities, childhood sexual abuse was an independent risk factor for IPV. Childhood emotional abuse mediated the association between attachment anxiety and IPV victimization in multiple relationships in particular. Attachment theory appeared useful for better understanding women's vulnerability for multiple violent relationships.

Keywords: attachment; childhood emotional abuse; intimate partner violence (IPV); multiple partners (MP).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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