Intimate partner violence: Narratives of attachment relationships and linguistic analysis of emotional schemas through a quali-quantitative approach

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a concerning, widespread issue with serious health, social, and financial consequences. Previous studies highlighted the role of insecure attachment patterns in predicting IPV victimization. This study investigates attachment classifications among women survivors of IPV referred to antiviolence centers, as determined by the Adult Attachment Interview and compare them with a control group. Additionally, this study aims to discern variations in linguistic and narrative styles, utilizing referential process linguistic measures, between the IPV and control groups. Twenty-eight female survivors of IPV and 28 controls completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Adult Attachment Interview. The analyses revealed that 25% of the women in the IPV group exhibited a secure attachment style, in contrast to 78.5% of individuals in the control group. Furthermore, 75% of the women in the IPV group reported an insecure attachment (dismissing, disorganized, or preoccupied pattern), while only 21.5% of the control group displayed similar patterns of insecure attachment. Several differences in linguistic measures emerged between groups. The results indicated that women in the IPV group employed fewer positive affect words but utilized more concrete and imagery representations when describing their attachment experiences. This demonstrated a higher emotional involvement in their past attachment experiences and an endeavor to reflect on their past violence experiences. Current findings suggest that the attachment systems and attachment working model in women with a history of IPV were strongly activated during their admission for requesting help at an antiviolence center. These preliminary results may have important clinical implications.