Women of Intimate Partner Abuse: Traumatic Bonding Phenomenon
Year: 2018

Women of Intimate Partner Abuse: Traumatic Bonding Phenomenon by Meghan Koch MA, Argosy University, 2012 BA, The George Washington University, 2006 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Forensic Psychology Walden University November 2018  Researchers indicate women succumb to relational abuse as seen with maladaptive attachment, identity enmeshment, and implicit maltreatment. Implicit violence and nonviolence, bonding victims to victimizers remains unstudied, although the domestic abuse phenomenon continues. Intimate partner abuse was examined through qualitative inquiry. There is much to learn about female victim perspectives describing attachment bonds, identity conflicts, and implicit maltreatment experiences. Traumatic bonding theory served as the lens through which female participant responses were examined in this study. Research questions were developed to focus on female attachment bond perceptions, views concerning self esteem, self identity, or self reference, and implicit aggression, coercive control, or manipulation experiences. The foundation for the qualitative research design was phenomenological constructivism. The Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory served as the standardized assessment instrument for data collection. Participant responses from the questionnaire and semistructured interview questions were organized through analytic coding, resulting in meaningful, composite categories for thematic conclusions. Data from 10 female participants who previously experienced intimate abuse were collected and analyzed. Thematic coding resulted in survivor experiences categorized by caustic, deceptive, emotional, implicit, and oppressive traumatization. Themes involved psychological entanglement with the abuser due to humiliation, or physical entrapment by the abuser due to opposition. Victim perspective and experience can potentially improve how the law, law enforcement, or health care professionals, view, treat, and protect abuse victims.Researchers indicate women succumb to relational abuse as seen with maladaptive attachment, identity enmeshment, and implicit maltreatment. Implicit violence and nonviolence, bonding victims to victimizers remains unstudied, although the domestic abuse phenomenon continues. Intimate partner abuse was examined through qualitative inquiry. There is much to learn about female victim perspectives describing attachment bonds, identity conflicts, and implicit maltreatment experiences. Traumatic bonding theory served as the lens through which female participant responses were examined in this study. Research questions were developed to focus on female attachment bond perceptions, views concerning self esteem, self identity, or self reference, and implicit aggression, coercive control, or manipulation experiences. The foundation for the qualitative research design was phenomenological constructivism. The Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory served as the standardized assessment instrument for data collection. Participant responses from the questionnaire and semistructured interview questions were organized through analytic coding, resulting in meaningful, composite categories for thematic conclusions. Data from 10 female participants who previously experienced intimate abuse were collected and analyzed. Thematic coding resulted in survivor experiences categorized by caustic, deceptive, emotional, implicit, and oppressive traumatization. Themes involved psychological entanglement with the abuser due to humiliation, or physical entrapment by the abuser due to opposition. Victim perspective and experience can potentially improve how the law, law enforcement, or health care professionals, view, treat, and protect abuse victims. Women of Intimate Partner Abuse: Traumatic Bonding Phenomenon by Meghan Koch MA, Argosy University, 2012 BA, The George Washington University, 2006 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Forensic Psychology Walden University November 2018