Adult Attachment Dimensions and Child-to-Parent Violence in Spanish Adolescents and Young Adults

INTRODUCTION Attachment experiences shape internal working models of the self and others, influencing socioemotional development and interpersonal relationships across the lifespan. Attachment difficulties and the absence of a secure attachment have been associated with an increased risk of child-to-parent violence (CPV). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between adult attachment dimensions and CPV perpetrated against mothers and fathers among Spanish adolescents and young adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample comprised 118 participants (86 women, 72.9%; 32 men, 27.1%) aged between 14 and 25 years (M = 20.42, SD = 3.13). Following approval by the Ethics Committee of the University of Valencia and after obtaining informed consent, participants completed an online assessment via LimeSurvey. Adult attachment dimensions (anxiety, socio-emotional competence, avoidance, and anger) were assessed using the Revised Adult Attachment Questionnaire (CAAr), while CPV was measured using the Child-to-Parent Violence Scale (CPVS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29.

RESULTS Regarding violence against mothers, the anger dimension was positively associated with physical (r = .354, p < .001), verbal (r = .370, p < .001), and combined (r = .257, p < .001) violence. In addition, attachment anxiety was associated with verbal violence (r = .191, p < .05), whereas avoidance was associated with physical (r = .344, p < .001) and combined violence (r = .283, p < .001). Regarding violence against fathers, anger was the only attachment dimension significantly associated with physical (r = .268, p < .001), verbal (r = .274, p < .001), and combined (r = .225, p < .05) violence.

CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that insecure attachment dimensions, particularly anger, are consistently associated with child-to-parent violence. Anxiety and avoidance were specifically related to violence against mothers. These results underscore the importance of addressing attachment-related factors and emotion regulation processes in the prevention and intervention of child-to-parent violence from a comprehensive perspective.