Battered persons remain attached to abusive partners due to traumatic bonding
Empirical research supports the concept of traumatic bonding, showing that intermittent maltreatment and power dynamics in abusive relationships foster strong emotional attachments that make victims reluctant to leave.
The claim is specific, empirical, and testable. Papers [0] and [7] explicitly examine traumatic bonding and find direct evidence that abuse dynamics create persistent emotional attachments to abusive partners. The remaining papers cover general IPV prevalence, screening, natural disasters, and intergenerational transmission, bearing little direct relevance to the mechanism of traumatic bonding itself. Therefore, the balance of evidence strongly supports the claim.
Donald G. Dutton, Susan Painter. Emotional Attachments in Abusive Relationships: A Test of Traumatic Bonding Theory. 1993. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.8.2.105
Paper 0 provides empirical support showing that extreme intermittent maltreatment and power differentials significantly account for long-term felt attachment to a former abusive partner.
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V. George. Traumatic Bonding and Intimate Partner Violence. 2015. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17009843
Paper 7 confirms that relationship violence is linked to psychological components of trauma bonding, such as cognitive distortions justifying the abuser and beliefs that one's survival depends on their love.
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