Relationship Religiosity, Adult Attachment Styles, and Courtship Violence Experienced by Females

• NCJ Number: 218143
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 55-62
• Author(s): Brian J. Higginbotham; Scott A. Ketring; Jeff Hibbert; David W. Wright; Anthony Guarino
• Date Published: February 2007
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the association between adult attachment styles, religiosity, and courtship violence as experienced by females (n=299, 18-24 years old)

Abstract

Generally, study findings indicate that women with low religiosity and insecure attachment styles reported experiencing more courtship violence than females who reported high religiosity and secure attachment styles. For the purposes of this study, "religiosity" is defined as "an individual's beliefs and behavior in relation to the supernatural and/or high-intensity values." The analyses support a multidimensional conceptualization of religiosity. Indicators of "relationship" religiosity were more strongly linked to lower reports of courtship violence than personal and private relationship measures. "Relationship" religiosity as defined in this study refers to the couple's sharing of religious values for their relationship. This means they are of the same religion, value growing spiritually together, and pray with each other. Women who sought partners with religious and spiritual values similar to their own experienced less violence in their dating relationship. The findings suggest that future studies which evaluate the effects of religiosity on courtship violence should include measures of "relationship" religiosity. The women selected for the study were attending junior-level Human Development and Family Studies courses at a midwestern State university. The study used the Relationship Competencies of Rural Adolescents and Young Adults survey in order to assess various aspects of participants' intimate relationships. Three measures assessed the association between attachment (secure, avoidant, anxious/ambivalent attachment styles), religiosity, and courtship violence (measured with a revised version of the physical aggression subscale of the Conflict Tactics Scale). Statistical analyses assessed interactional effects and mean-level differences for both victimization and perpetration of courtship violence. 1 table, 2 figures, and 50 references