Attachment, Mate-Retention Strategies, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimisation: A Two-Wave Study in Brazil and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The current study examined whether individual differences in attachment orientation, mate-retention tactics (benefit-provisioning and cost-inflicting strategies), and COVID-19-related stressors (impact, uncertainty, and perceived risk) were associated with IPV victimisation across two time points, one month apart, in Brazil and the UK (N = 1416 at Wave 1; N = 353 at Wave 2). Linear mixed-effects models controlled for age, sex, ethnicity, and relationship length. IPV victimisation did not significantly change over time, and COVID-19-related variables were not associated with any form of IPV. Brazilian participants reported higher psychological IPV than UK participants, although no country differences emerged for physical or sexual IPV. Cost-inflicting mate-retention strategies were positively associated with all forms of IPV in both countries, with consistently stronger associations in the UK. Attachment avoidance was positively associated with all forms of IPV in Brazil but was negatively associated with psychological and sexual IPV in the UK. Attachment anxiety and benefit-provisioning strategies were associated with psychological IPV in Brazil only. These findings suggest that associations between attachment, mate-retention strategies, and IPV victimisation may vary across cultural contexts, underscoring the value of culturally sensitive approaches to IPV research and intervention.