Adult Attachment as a Criminological Construct in the Cycle of Violence

• Published in: Violence and victims Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 210 - 232
• Main Author: Marganski, Alison
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Publishing Company 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Aggression; Attachment; Behavioral Sciences; Childhood Factors; Counseling; Crime Victims - psychology; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Domestic violence; Families & family life; Family Violence; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Marriage and Family Counselling; Multivariate Analysis; Object Attachment; Policy, Social Justice, and Human Rights; Psychology; Self Report; Sex Offenses - psychology; Sexual Partners - psychology; Social and Personality Psychology; Social control; Social Learning; Social Work; Students - psychology; Studies; Teenagers; Undergraduate Students; Victimization; Victims; Young Adult; violent behavior; social learning theory; social control theory; family violence
• ISSN: 0886-6708; 1945-7073
• DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.11-00155

This study investigates whether the criminological construct of attachment plays a role in the link between family violence victimization experiences in childhood and adult violent behavior. Data collected from undergraduate students was used to estimate the independent effect of adult attachment type on the victimization-violence link and it was used to examine main effects and interactions between family violence-adult attachment types on adult violent behavior. Consistent with past research, results revealed significant associations between direct experiences of victimization and violent behavior. Multivariate analyses using interaction terms also found significant interactions, indicating moderation effects, which were further investigated. Results revealed that social learning theory may be useful in explaining violence among those who have experienced high victimization, whereas social control theory may be useful in explaining adult violence for those who have experienced low or no levels of violence early in life. Given this study's findings, further research to examine the means by which family violence victimization experiences develop into violent behavioral patterns is recommended.