When Staying Home Is Not Safe: An Investigation of the Role of Attachment Style on Stress and Intimate Partner Violence in the Time of COVID-19.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern, with increasing rates of IPV being seen around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research has linked the perpetration of IPV and other forms of sexual violence to aspects of romantic attachment psychology, with insecure anxious/preoccupied attachment most often linked to higher rates of IPV. Stressful events typically activate the attachment system and may either aggravate or disrupt its regulatory functioning.