Use of the Adult Attachment Scale with Domestically Violent Men

• NCJ Number: 242702
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 27 Issue: 8 Dated: November 2012 Pages: 731-739
• Author(s): Anthony F. Tasso; Donalee Brown; Robert Griffo; Ketrin Saud Maxwell
• Date Published: November 2012
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated attachment and domestic violence.

Abstract

Empirical evidence highlights the utility of examining attachment styles in exploring the etiology of intimate partner violence perpetration, with insecure attachment styles regularly identified as underscoring domestically violent men. This study applied the 18-item self-report Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(4), 644-663 1990) to 176 men entering a domestic violence perpetration counseling program. Factor analyses failed to result in the three factor model of the AAS. Subsequent item analyses indicated participants' random and contradictory response style negated the possibility of any coherent factor structure. The results of this study caution investigators on the validity of self-report data with domestically violent men and offers both research and clinical/conceptual implications. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.