Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence and Romantic Attachment Style in a College Student Sample

The frequency, severity, and reciprocity of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence and its consequences (i. e., injuries) were investigated in a college sample of women (N = 457). Participants were classified into one of the following four groups on the basis of selfreported physical assault p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Violence and victims 2005-06, Vol.20 (3), p.287-302
Main Authors: Orcutt, Holly K., Garcia, Marilyn, Pickett, Scott M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aggression
Anxiety
Attachment
Battered Women
Behavioral Sciences
College Students
Counseling
Courtship - psychology
Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Logistic Models
Marriage and Family Counselling
Midwestern United States
Partner Abuse
Policy, Social Justice, and Human Rights
Psychology
Sex Factors
Sexual Partners - psychology
Social and Personality Psychology
Social Work
Students - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Victim Offender Relations
Victimization
Women's Health
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Summary:The frequency, severity, and reciprocity of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence and its consequences (i. e., injuries) were investigated in a college sample of women (N = 457). Participants were classified into one of the following four groups on the basis of selfreported physical assault perpetration and victimization against their relationship partners: nonviolent, perpetrator-only, victim-only, and bidirectionally violent. Results showed that females in the bidirectionally violent group had a reportedly higher occurrence (although not always statistically significant) of perpetration and victimization than those in the perpetrator-only and victim-only groups. Additionally, a similar degree of reciprocity was indicated by females in bidirectionally violent relationships in terms of violence severity and the occurrence of injury. Adult romantic attachment style was also examined among a subset of females (N = 328), and bidirectionally violent females were found to have the highest reported levels of attachment anxiety. Further, females high in attachment anxiety and low in attachment avoidance were more likely to report perpetrating violence than females high in both styles. Implications for prevention are discussed.
ISSN:0886-6708
1945-7073
DOI:10.1891/vivi.20.3.287