Objective: Surveys in Turkey revealed that one third of women were exposed to physical violence by their partners and 25% of them lost their lives. The rate of murdered women in the last seven years has increased more than 1400 times. These findings display the importance of the problem. This research has been planned to put forward the attachment styles and identify the psychological symptom levels of women who were subject to violence and living at shelters, and women who were living with their spouses.
Method: The sample of this study consists of 40 women who were subject to physical violence and continue to live with their spouses in the service area of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Counseling Centers, and 40 women who were subject to physical violence and living in three women’s shelters in Istanbul. Symptom Check List (SCL-90), Relationship Scales Questionnaire and socio-demographic form were used for research.
Results: The comparison between these two groups were examined. Levels of symptoms related with somatization, obsessive-compulsive features, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, anger-hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, sleep and eating disorders, feelings of guilt were found high in both groups. The relationship between secured attachment styles and obsessive-compulsive features, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, anger-hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychotic and general symptom profiles showed statistically significant negative correlation.
Conclusion: According to attachment styles, there were no significant statistical differences between women exposed to violence and living at women’s shelters and women who are exposed to violence but still living with their husbands; but the secure attachment style is higher in whom left their home at least once after the violence, comparing to women who never left the house. Besides, psychological symptoms were lower in women who were exposed to violence and had a secure attachment. Therefore, secure attachment style is a component for women to handle husband violence.
Key words: Attachment, psychological symptom, violence, woman
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