MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Noga Zerubavel Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy ______________________________________________ Director Terri L. Messman-Moore, Ph.D. ______________________________________________ Reader Margaret O’Dougherty Wright, Ph.D. ______________________________________________ Reader Aaron Luebbe, Ph.D. ______________________________________________ Graduate School Representative Sally Lloyd, Ph.D. ABSTRACT RESTRICTED AWARENESS IN INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: THE EFFECT OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND FEAR OF ABANDONMENT by Noga Zerubavel Betrayal trauma theory suggests that victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) may restrict awareness of the abuse in order to preserve what they perceive as a vital attachment, as well as to make it more psychologically bearable to live in an abusive context. This study builds upon betrayal trauma theory by examining multiple psychological mechanisms through which individuals restrict awareness of abuse, including dyadic splitting, dissociation, and lack of mindful awareness, in a sample of 378 community women who were currently in a relationship. The patterns of restricted awareness were examined separately, depending upon whether respondents reported severe, moderate, or no childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experiences, to determine whether such relationships were particularly relevant for women with a history of CSA. Overall, CSA victims, particularly victims of severe CSA, tended to rely on pathological processes (i.e., dyadic splitting, depersonalization, amnesia), and nonvictims tended to rely on non-pathological processes (i.e., absorption, lack of mindful awareness). The study is the first to demonstrate the role of fear of abandonment in contributing to a victim’s reliance on restricted awareness. Findings highlight that, particularly for CSA victims, fear of abandonment increases reliance on restricted awareness. RESTRICTED AWARENESS IN INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: THE EFFECT OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND FEAR OF ABANDONMENT A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Psychology by Noga Zerubavel Miami University Oxford, OH 2013 Dissertation Director: Terri L. Messman-Moore, Ph.D. Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Women in Relationships with Intimate Partner Violence.............................................................1 Dyadic Splitting..........................................................................................................................3 Dissociation ................................................................................................................................4 Lack of Mindful Awareness........................................................................................................4 Fear of Abandonment..................................................................................................................5 The Relevance of Childhood Sexual Abuse.................................................................................6 Study Aims & Hypotheses ..........................................................................................................7 Method .......................................................................................................................................8 Participants .................................................................................................................................8 Procedure....................................................................................................................................9 Measures.....................................................................................................................................9 Data Analytic Plan....................................................................................................................11 Results......................................................................................................................................12 Descriptive Statistics.................................................................................................................12 Preliminary Analyses................................................................................................................13 Evaluating the Interaction of IPV & Fear of Abandonment Predicting Restricted Awareness and the Influence of Childhood Sexual Abuse.............................................................................14 Discussion ................................................................................................................................16 Limitations................................................................................................................................19 Implications for Intervention.....................................................................................................19 Conclusion................................................................................................................................20 References ................................................................................................................................21 Tables.......................................................................................................................................27 Figures......................................................................................................................................39 ii List of Tables Table 1: Means, Standard Deviations, and Ranges of All Variables...........................................27 Table 2: Zero-Order Correlations for Study Variables ...............................................................28 Table 3: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Prediction of Dyadic Splitting Based on Intimate Partner Violence and Fear of Abandonment..........................................................................29 Table 4: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Prediction of Absorption Based on Intimate Partner Violence and Fear of Abandonment..........................................................................31 Table 5: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Prediction of Depersonalization Based on Intimate Partner Violence and Fear of Abandonment............................................................33 Table 6: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Prediction of Amnesia Based on Intimate Partner Violence and Fear of Abandonment......................................................................................35 Table 7: Hierarchical Regression Analyses for Prediction of Lack of Mindful Awareness Based on Intimate Partner Violence and Fear of Abandonment.......................................................37 iii List of Figures Figure 1: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between intimate partner violence and processes that restrict awareness ......................................................................39 Figure 2: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between physical intimate partner violence and depersonalization among women with a history of severe childhood sexual abuse .........................................................................................................................40 Figure 3: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between physical intimate partner violence and amnesia among women with a history of severe childhood sexual abuse .............................................................................................................................................41 Figure 4: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between sexual intimate partner violence and depersonalization among women with a history of severe childhood sexual abuse .........................................................................................................................42 Figure 5: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between sexual intimate partner violence and amnesia among women with a history of severe childhood sexual abuse .............................................................................................................................................43 Figure 6: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between physical intimate partner violence and depersonalization among women with a history of moderate childhood sexual abuse .........................................................................................................................44 Figure 7: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between physical intimate partner violence and amnesia among women with a history of moderate childhood sexual abuse....................................................................................................................................45 Figure 8: The influence of fear of abandonment on the relationship between sexual intimate partner violence and lack of mindful awareness among women with no history of childhood sexual abuse (i.e., nonvictims)..............................................................................................46 iv Acknowledgements This project was made possible through funding