Attachment theory

Attachment measures

Personality

Clinical psychology

Developmental psychology

Psychology

Jealousy

Anger

Aggression

Insecure attachment

Social psychology

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

One hundred and twenty men referred for treatment for wife assault and forty demographic controls completed self‐report questionnaires assessing attachment patterns, anger, jealousy, Borderline Personality Organization, and trauma symptoms. This constellation, with the exception of attachment, has been found to represent a profile related significantly to the frequency of both verbal and physical abuse. In the present study, attachment was found to correlate significantly with these other measures. A measure of secure attachment correlated significantly, but negatively, with the constellation measures. A measure of fearful attachment correlated significantly and positively. A preoccupied attachment pattern correlated with the other measures less strongly than did the fearful measure. A dismissing measure was not correlated with any constellation measures. The role of attachment anger is discussed; it is suggested that fearful attachment could also be described as angry attachment. The concept of intimacy anger is introduced from early studies in attachment and applied to the explanation of assaultiveness in adult relationships.

Intimacy‐Anger and Insecure Attachment as Precursors of Abuse in Intimate Relationships<sup>1</sup>

Intimacy‐Anger and Insecure Attachment as Precursors of Abuse in Intimate Relationships1

Intimacy‐Anger and Insecure Attachment as Precursors of Abuse in Intimate Relationships¹