CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

A Model for Predicting Dating Violence in College Students: Anxious Attachment, Angry Temperament and Need for Relationship Control

Abstract

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a model incorporating anxious attachment, angry temperament, and attempts to control one's partner as predictors of the severity and frequency of dating violence. To date, these concepts have not been clearly established as having direct or indirect effects on dating violence. It was hypothesized that anxious attachment and angry temperament would influence the need for and attempts to control one's partner which, in turn, would predict a person's actual use of force. College students (213 males; 199 females) completed measures assessing these constructs. Cross-validation was accomplished through using two successive freshmen samples. Statistics indicated the application of the model fit well to both samples. All specified paths were significant except for the direct path from anxious attachment to need for control in the second sample. While exploratory, this model seemed satisfactory for explaining potentially causal relationships of attachment, anger, and attempts to control one's partner leading to dating violence.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2002

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Violence and Victims, v. 17, no. 1, p. 35-47.

Dr. Diane Follingstad had not been a faculty member of the University of Kentucky at the time of publication.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/vivi.17.1.35.33639

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