Abandonment and engulfment: A bimodal classification of anxiety in domestic violence perpetrators

Multiple conceptualizations of male perpetrated domestic violence have been proposed over the last half-century. The present paper highlights the generally implicit emphasis on the central role of abandonment that unites much of this literature, and the limitations of such a singular perspective are considered. Drawing on theoretical and empirical work both within and outside of the domestic violence literature, a complementary mode of anxiety concerned with the experience of loss of oneself opposed to loss of another is identified. It is suggested that a bimodal classification of anxiety in domestic violence perpetrators that considers abandonment and engulfment as complementary modes of anxiety might provide incremental clinical utility in framing IPV as functionally proximity seeking or intimacy titrating. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.