Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Amber Nelson, PsyD

Second Advisor

Ryan Thompson, PsyD

Third Advisor

Rodger Bufford, PhD

Abstract

As research on intimate partner violence (IPV) continues to grow and there are more ways of defining IPV and identifying its differing forms, a related topic of interest has become the impact IPV has on families (Fong et al., 2019). Similarly, research on IPV as a form of trauma and its implications is well-researched for both children and adults, as is the research on trauma and attachment (Cook et al., 2017). However, there seems to be a lack of research on how parent–child attachment is predicted by IPV. The present study aimed to assess how parent perceptions of their level of attachment is predicted by instances of IPV, using the Harm, Insult, Threaten, and Scream (HITS) domestic violence screening tool (Sherin, 2003) and the Revised Inventory of Parent Attachment (R-IPA; Johnson et al., 2003). The results of this study found a negative relationship between the parent age, and child age and the Communication scale on the R-IPA; child age was the most significant predictor of communication (β = −0.54, p < .010). Additionally, the results also show a positive relationship between the Communication Scale on the R-IPA and frequency of IPV (β = 0.52, p < .010). Finally, results show no significant relationship between the Trust/Avoidance Scale on the R-IPA and parent age, child age, or frequency of IPV. These results suggest that the Communication scale is a strong predictor of parents’ perceptions of their attachment to their children. Therefore, treatment implications may be interventions that focus on building communication between parent and child, as a way to help increase connectedness and perceptions of attachment.

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