Male perpetration of physical violence against female partners: The interaction of dominance needs and attachment insecurity

Sixty men arrested for domestic violence and court referred to a batterer intervention program completed measures of frequency of physical violence enacted toward their female partner, need for dominance in a relationship, social desirability, and adult attachment style. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that, after adjusting for the effect of social desirability, adult attachment style significantly moderated the relationship between need for dominance and frequency of violence. As expected, insecurely attached men who also indicated a need for dominance in their relationship reported the most violence toward their female partners. These findings highlight the importance of drawing on multiple and diverse theories to explain battering. Implications of the findings for intervention and policy are addressed.