Study reveals how abusers create trauma bonds
Abusers use affection and cruelty to create a psychological hold on victims before physical violence begins.
Why it matters
- Shows how abusers manipulate victims psychologically before physical violence.
- Challenges the idea of victim complicity (codependency).
By the numbers
- Study involved 18 women who had experienced domestic violence.
- Women were economically independent and often lived away from abusers.
The big picture
- Abusers use strategic systems of control to create a trauma bond, which can feel like addiction.
- Trauma bonds are intentionally manufactured by abusers, not a passive response to violence.
What they're saying
- Commenters agree abusers build bonds before violence.
- Questions about whether abusers genuinely try to be better initially or if it's manipulation.
Caveats
- Study based on interviews with a small number of women (18).
- Findings may not apply to all domestic abuse situations.
What’s next
- Professional training for police and frontline workers to recognize non-physical forms of entrapment.