Adult attachment in partner-violent men

Abstract

The influence of emotional and affective regulation goes beyond family and romantic relationships and influences our aggressive behavior. In the research on interpersonal violence, one of the most complex variables to analyze is adult attachment. The international research has linked attachment styles with functional or dysfunctional anger expression, domestic and intimate partner violence, and criminal behavior. The aim of this paper is to review the existing research on adult attachment styles and their relationship with intimate partner violence. The value of the variable in the typological classification of offenders, the implications for therapeutic interventions and the limitations in its assessment are discussed. Since it is a variable whose study in Spain still must be developed some future research lines are proposed.