The link between use of violent imagery (VI) in imaginative stories about social situations and perceivers' attachment styles (secure, avoidant, anxious) was examined. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and an attachment style questionnaire were administered. The TAT stories of anxiously attached men contained more VI than stories written by other subjects. Content analyses further revealed that more anxiously attached men wrote violent affiliation stories with male perpetrators and female victims. Findings suggest that V7 may be an expression of frustration toward romantic partners and an inability to modulate negative affect in intimate relationships for a specific group of men.
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