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A Complex Relationship:
Intimate Partner Violence,
Identification With the
Aggressor, and Guilt
Alana Siegel
1
, Elit Shaked
1
, and Yael Lahav
1
Abstract
This study explored the relation between guilt and identification with the aggressor
(IWA) and the moderating role of IWA in the relation between intimate partner vio-
lence (IPV) and guilt. An online survey was conducted among a convenience sample of
700 women. IPV survivors demonstrated elevated guilt, and IWA was related to guilt.
Furthermore, IWA moderated the relation between IPV and guilt: Among participants
with low IWA levels, IPV was unrelated to guilt, but among participants with high IWA
levels, IPV was related to guilt. These findings suggest that IWA may be a key element
in explaining guilt among IPV survivors.
Keywords
intimate partner violence, identification with the aggressor, guilt, abuse, depression
Introduction
Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes physical or sexual violence, psychological
harm, or stalking by a former or current partner, whether in heterosexual or homosex-
ual couples (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2021a). According to the CDC, phys-
ical violence is when a person hurts or tries to hurt a partner via physical force. Sexual
violence is attempting to force or forcing “a partner to take part in a sex act, sexual
touching, or a nonphysical sexual event (e.g., sexting) when the partner does not or
cannot consent.”Psychological aggression is the use of “verbal and nonverbal commu-
nication with the intent to harm another person mentally or emotionally and/or to exert
1
Department of Occupational Therapy, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of
Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Corresponding Author:
Yael Lahav, Department of Occupational Therapy, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler
Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.
Email: yaellah1@tauex.tau.ac.il
Original Research Article
Violence Against Women
1–15
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/10778012221137917
journals.sagepub.com/home/vaw
control over another person”(CDC, 2021b). Statistics on IPV vary. In a global study of
IPV, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that a quarter of women between
the ages of 15–49 who have been in a relationship have been subjected to physical
and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner at least once in their lifetime. The
WHO found that IPV affects approximately 641 million women globally, making it
the most prevalent form of violence against women (WHO, 2021). IPV has a range
of effects on the victimized partner, including but not limited to physical injury, suici-
dality, depression, anxiety, substance use, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self-
harm, sexually transmitted diseases, and injury to reproductive health (Beck et al.,
2016; Kubany & Watson, 2002; Lahav, Renshaw, & Solomon, 2019; Lahav et al.,
2018; Willie et al., 2018; Wilson et al., 2021).
Guilt has been recognized as an emotional state with important implications in individ-
uals who have experienced trauma (Beck et al., 2011; Lahav, Solomon, Siegel, Tsur, &
Defrin, 2019), and particularly as a primary component of posttraumatic distress in IPV
victims (Kubany, Abueg, et al., 1995; Kubany, Bauer, et al., 1995; Kubany et al., 2004;
Kubany & Watson, 2002). Guilt reflects real or imagined transgressions, with individuals
believing that their action or inaction has led to negative consequences (Kubany &
Ralston, 2006). In previous studies on IPV survivors, women expressed guilt, self-blame,
shame, and embarrassment about partner abuse (Allard et al., 2018; Overstreet & Quinn,
2013). Women in violent relationships can experience unique sources of guilt, such as
feeling at fault for deciding to stay in the relationship, or concern regarding the impact
of the violence on their children (Barnett & LaViolette, 1993).
Guilt may affect the measures that IPV victims take when facing the abuse and may
intensify their distress. Guilt may mediate their fear and escape reactions; play on their
gender-socialized ideas of suffering for the sake of love; and feed their fear of ending
their relationship with the aggressor, which may result in their doing everything pos-
sible to keep the relationship afloat (Cala et al., 2016). In a sample of 345 female sur-
vivors of IPV who had the opportunity to take legal action against their former partners,
guilt was found to be a significant predictor of disengagement from the proceedings
(Cala et al., 2016). Thus, revealing factors that explain guilt among this population
is of importance.
Several factors could explain guilt in IPV survivors. Guilt may reflect IPV survi-
vors’efforts to lessen feelings of powerlessness and helplessness subsequent to their
abuse. By blaming themselves for the abuse, IPV victims may restore a sense of
control (Whiffen & MacIntosh, 2005). Guilt may also reflect the detrimental effects
of stigma. Due to the norm-violating nature of the crimes, IPV victims may experience
stigma, including victim-blaming messages from society and from the media, which, in
turn, can be internalized and manifested as self-blame (Kennedy & Prock, 2018;
Overstreet & Quinn, 2013). Additionally, depression symptoms among this population
could be a factor contributing to guilt (Browne et al., 2015). In a study of 109 women
who were seeking mental health assistance after IPV, depression was found to have a
significant correlation with guilt (Beck et al., 2015). Lastly, guilt among IPV victims
may reflect a defensive reaction whose aim is to preserve the relationship with the sig-
nificant attachment figure (Allard et al., 2018). By taking on the blame for the abuse,
2Violence Against Women 0(0)
the victim can adapt to the situation to keep the peace and maintain the dependent rela-
tionship (Allard et al., 2018; Kennedy & Prock, 2018).
Thus, it appears that IPV victims’attachment toward their partners could be a
central factor that explains victims’guilt. Furthermore, according to the IPV literature,
the bonds to their abusive partners may be particularly strong among some victims and
may be characterized by psychological fusion and identification. Several conceptuali-
zations that reflect this notion have been offered, such as traumatic bonding (Dutton &
Painter, 1993), Stockholm syndrome (Graham et al., 1988, 1995; Wallace, 2007), and
identification with the aggressor (IWA; Frankel, 2002; Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg,
2019), the last of which is at the heart of the current study.
Identification with the aggressor is a multifaceted process in which victims of abuse
take on or fuse with their abusers’experience (Ferenczi, 1932, 1933) and “become
one”with their abuser via a change in their inner experience (Frankel, 2002).
Although Ferenczi’s theory mainly focuses on victims of childhood abuse, IWA
appears to be pertinent to IPV and to represent victims’mental fusion with their
abusive partners, which rises above emotional attachment between intimate partners
(Lahav, 2021a). In fact, IWA is argued to have defensive qualities aiming to
promote victims’survival (Ferenczi, 1932; Frankel, 2002). Thus, the concept of
IWA does not imply in any way that victims bear responsibility for their abuse, but
rather suggests that victims’introjection of their perpetrators’experience reflect norma-
tive and automatic defensive reaction which can serve to protect victims from the trau-
matic reality that would otherwise be impossible to tolerate. Yet, similar to other
reactions during abuse, IWA appears to be varied across victims, with some being
more susceptible for IWA than others. Although scarcely studied, theory suggests
that the power asymmetry between the victim and perpetrator may underlie IWA het-
erogenicity (Frankel, 2002). Additionally, recent findings indicated that frequency of
IPV may be associated with IWS levels among IPV survivors (Lahav, 2021a).
There are four interactive components to IWA (Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019).
The first component is the loss of one’s agency and the replacement of it with that of
the perpetrator. In their quest for survival, victims who identify with their abusers may
become highly submissive. They lose contact with their own inner experience, and
their wants and needs are replaced by those of their perpetrators (Frankel, 2002).
Second may become hypersensitive to the perpetrator. Namely, victims who identify
with their abusers may be highly attuned to their perpetrator’s experience and learn
“from the inside”of their perpetrator’s emotions and desires (Ferenczi, 1932;
Frankel, 2002). Third, as part of IWA, victims may internalize the perpetrator’s aggres-
sion and may direct this aggression both inward and outward (Frankel, 2002; Lahav,
Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019). Finally, victims who identify with their abusers may
adopt their perpetrator’s experience concerning the abuse; they may come to mold
themselves to their perpetrators, and to view the abuse from their abuser’s perspec-
tive—namely, to rationalize or deny the abuse while at the same time experiencing self-
blame and self-hatred (Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019; Lahav et al., 2020).
According to IWA theory, although IWA aims to promote survival during the
abuse, it often continues to exist even after the abuse ends and has negative
Siegel et al. 3
repercussions on survivors’well-being (Frankel, 2002; Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg,
2019). Evidence from studies among childhood abuse survivors have landed support
for this claim, indicating IWA to be related to elevated PTSD, dissociation, self-
injurious behavior, suicidality, and revictimization (Lahav, 2021b; Lahav et al.,
2020; Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019; Lahav, Talmon, Ginzburg, & Spiegel,
2019). Additionally, a recent study among women reported being subjected to IPV
at present or in the past indicated IWA to have unique contribution in explaining
trauma-related distress and depressive symptoms above and beyond background char-
acteristics and IPV features (Lahav, 2021a).
The negative implications of IWA after the abuse ended may also contribute to
survivors’guilt. Ferenczi viewed the “introjection of guilt feelings”as one of the
most damaging outcomes of IWA (Ferenczi, 1933, p. 162). According to his
theory, the mental fusion with their aggressor, as a part of IWA, leads those
abuse victims who identify with their aggressors to take on their perpetrators’
“badness,”or to adopt the way their perpetrators perceive them (the victims) as
bad (Ferenczi, 1932; Frankel, 2002). This process eventuates in victims’taking
responsibility for the aggressor’s actions and blaming themselves for the abuse.
In addition, one may assume that the other three aspects of IWA may also contrib-
ute to elevated guilt among IPV survivors. Losing their sense of agency and
becoming highly attuned to their abusive partners may give rise to feelings of help-
lessness among survivors as well as doubt concerning their ability to evaluate the
abuse correctly (Lahav, 2021a; Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019). Additionally,
identifying with their partners’aggression as part of IWA may prone survivors to
direct aggression inward (Lahav et al., 2020). These processes, in turn, could result
in harsh and punitive self-accusation. Findings of a study that explored IWA and
guilt in the aftermath of childhood abuse have provided support for these suppo-
sitions, indicating that higher levels of IWA were related to higher levels of post-
traumatic guilt among adult survivors of childhood abuse (Lahav, Talmon, &
Ginzburg, 2019).
The Present Study
Although research has documented the relation between IWA and guilt,to the best of
our knowledge no study has explored this link in the context of IPV. Furthermore, the
moderating role of IWA in the relation between IPV exposure and guilt is not known.
One may postulate that IWA not only contributes to guilt among IPV survivors, but
also serves as an essential factor responsible for the existence of guilt and self-blame
among this population. Thus, whereas IPV exposure may be related to elevated levels
of guilt, this relation may be significantly stronger among survivors who identify with
their abusive partners, given that as a part of IWA they may adopt their abusive part-
ners’perspective and introject the partners’blame for the abuse. The current cross-
sectional study was conducted among Israeli women, some of whom reported IPV
exposure, and explored the following novel suppositions:
4Violence Against Women 0(0)
Hypothesis 1: IPV survivors would report higher levels of guilt compared to controls.
Hypothesis 2: Identification with the aggressor would be related to guilt: The higher the
levels of IWA, the higher the levels of guilt.
Hypothesis 3: Identification with the aggressor wouldmoderate the relation between IPV
and guilt. The relation between IPV and guilt would be significantly stronger under con-
ditions of high levels of IWA.
Methods
Participants and Procedure
A convenience sample of Israeli women completed an online survey, which was acces-
sible to them through Qualtrics, a secure web-based survey data collection system.
Participants were recruited through a Facebook advertisement from April 1–25,
2020, and took on average 30 min to complete. Facebook users were eligible for
this study if they were female, ≥18 years old and living in Israel. The Facebook adver-
tisement consisted of a headline, main text, and link to the survey. The survey was
advertised as a study exploring the implications of stressful life events among
women and was accessible through Qualtrics. No data were collected that linked par-
ticipants with recruitment sources. All procedures and instruments were approved of by
the Tel Aviv University institutional review board. When potential respondents clicked
on the survey link, they were guided to a page that described the purpose of the study
and the nature of the questions, as well as to a consent form (informing them that the
survey was voluntary, that could withdraw from the study at any time, and assuring
them of their anonymity). The first page also included contact details of the researcher
and of organizations in Israel that provide IPV support/treatment. Each participant was
given the opportunity to participate in a lottery that included four $60 gift vouchers.
A total of 983 women filled out some of the survey’s questionnaires, yet only 700
(71.2%) who provided data regarding all the study variables (i.e., IPV, IWA, and guilt)
were included in the present analyses. All participants were Jewish, with ages ranging
from 18 to 79 (M=41.12, SD =14.43). Most were secular (73.6%), had a bachelor’s
degree or above (57.9%), were employed (50.9%), and had an average or above-
average income (52.7%). The majority defined themselves as heterosexual (88.4%)
and were in a relationship (53.1%).
Of the total sample, 297 (42.4%) participants reported past or current exposure to
IPV. The vast majority of participants who reported IPV were classified as having
undergone at least two types of violence (n=291, 98.0%): 190 (64.0%) reported phys-
ical violence, 274 (92.3%) reported verbal violence, 237 (79.8%) reported psycholog-
ical violence, and 156 (52.5%) reported sexual violence.
Comparing participants who reported IPV with participants with no IPV exposure in
regard to demographic characteristics indicated significant differences concerning age
F(1,698) =8.08, p< .01; relationship status χ
2
(1) =16.91, p< .001; and education χ
2
(1) =
8.29, p< .01. Participants with no IPV exposure were younger (M=40.79, SD =14.74)
Siegel et al. 5
than participants who reported IPV (M=43.91, SD =13.81). In addition, the proportion of
participants who were currently in a relationship or who had bachelor’s degrees or above
was significantly higher among participants with no IPV exposure (59.0%, 64.9%, respec-
tively) than among participants who reported IPV (44.1.9%, 54.9%, respectively). No dif-
ferences were found between the groups concerning religiosity or income (p
s
>.05).
Measures
Background Characteristics. Participants completed a brief demographic questionnaire that
assessed age, education, income, religiosity, sexual orientation, and relationship status.
Intimate Partner Violence (Eisikovits et al., 2004). Participants were asked whether they
were exposed to IPV at present or in the past. In addition, participants completed a ques-
tionnaire developed by Eisikovits et al. (2004) for use in the first Israeli national survey on
domestic violence. The questionnaire includes 13 items measuring different types and fre-
quency of violence: verbal assault(cursing, insulting, yelling); psychological or emotional
abuse (threatening, controlling, domineering, stalking, isolating, or resource-preventing
behaviors); and physical assault (the breaking of material items, moderate physical vio-
lence, severe physical violence). For the purpose of the present study, four items
tapping sexual violence were added (forcing intercourse, coercing sexual interaction,
injuring one’s body during sex, and injuring one’s breasts or genitals during sex). For
each of the items, participants were asked to rank the frequency of abuse on a 5-point
Likert scale ranging from 0 (never)to4(every day).
The IWA Scale (Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019). IWA was assessed via the IWA Scale
(IAS), a 23-item self-report questionnaire (Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019). The
items were presented to respondents as reflecting “possible reactions that people
may experience as a result of abuse or offense.”First, respondents were asked to
describe the severest abuse or offense (in the event that they had not been exposed
to IPV) they had ever experienced. Next, participants were asked to rate on an
11-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 0% (never) to 100% (all the time), the fre-
quency with which they experienced each manifestation of IWA in regard to their
abusive present or past partner (i.e., if they reported current or past IPV) or in
regard to an offender in the event they had not reported IPV. The IAS comprises
four subscales: adopting the perpetrator’s experience concerning the abuse, identifying
with the perpetrator’s aggression, replacing one’s agency with that of the perpetrator,
and becoming hypersensitive to the perpetrator. The IAS has been shown to have good
psychometric properties, including high construct and criterion validity, as well as high
internal reliability (Lahav, Talmon, & Ginzburg, 2019). In this study, the internal con-
sistency reliabilities ranged from 0.85 to 0.95 for the four subscales.
Abuse-Related Beliefs Questionnaire (ARBQ; Ginzburg et al., 2006). Guilt was assessed via
the guilt subscale of the ARBQ, comprising eight items (sample items: “When I think
6Violence Against Women 0(0)
of the abuse I underwent, I sometimes feel guilty”;“Sometimes I feel I must have per-
mitted bad things to happen to me because I did not do anything to stop them”). The
original version was adapted so that respondents were asked to refer to their current or
past IPV or to other abuses or offenses in the event they had not reported IPV.
Respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they agreed with each statement,
on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree)to5(do not agree at
all). The ARBQ has been shown to have good psychometric properties, including
high validity and reliability (Ginzburg et al. 2006). In this study, the internal consis-
tency reliability was 0.89.
Covariates. Given the documented relations between depression and guilt, depression
served as a covariate in the present analyses. Levels of depression symptoms were
assessed via the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18;
Derogatis, 2001). Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they had
been bothered by the symptom over the last two weeks, on a 5-point Likert scale
ranging from 0 (not at all)to4(extremely). The BSI-18 has been found to have ade-
quate convergent and discriminant validity and good reliability (Derogatis, 2001). In
this study, the internal consistency reliability for the depression subscale was excellent
(α=0.90). In addition, age, education, and relationship status, which were significantly
correlated with guilt (p
s
<.05), were also treated as covariates in the present analyses.
Analytic Strategy
To explore guilt as a function of IPV after adjusting for age, education, relationship
status, and depression, a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted,
comparing participants who reported IPV with participants who had no IPV exposure.
To explore the associations between IWA scores and guilt, Pearson correlation analy-
ses between the variables were conducted. Lastly, to explore the moderating role of
IWA in the relation between IPV and guilt, a regression model was conducted. Guilt
served as the dependent variable, IPV as the independent variable, and the IWA
total score as the moderator. Age, education, relationship status, and depression
served as covariates. All the variable scores were standardized. Next, significant inter-
actions were probed using PROCESS computational macro (Hayes, 2012).
Results
Guilt as a Function of IPV
Results of the ANCOVA indicated significant differences in guilt between participants
who reported IPV and participants with no IPV exposure F(1,694) =29.92, p< .001.
Participants who reported IPV had higher levels of guilt (M=2.35, SD =1.00) com-
pared to participants with no IPV exposure (M=1.90, SD =0.89), after adjusting for
age, education, relationship status, and depression.
Siegel et al. 7
Associations Between IWA and Guilt. As can be seen in Table 1, IWA was significantly
related to guilt. The higher the scores in the following subscales—adopting the perpe-
trator’s experience, identifying with the perpetrator’s aggression, replacing one’s
agency with that of the perpetrator, becoming hypersensitive to the perpetrator, and
the IWA total score—the higher the levels of guilt.
The Moderating Role of IWA in the Relation Between IPV and Guilt. To assess the moder-
ating role of IWA in the relation between IPV and guilt, a regression analysis was con-
ducted. Results of the analyses are presented in Table 2. The regression explained
31.0% of the variance of guilt and was significant, F(7,692) =44.22, p< .001. Age,
depression symptoms, IPV status, and IWA had significant effects in explaining
guilt. Younger age, elevated depression symptoms, and IWA, as well as being sub-
jected to IPV, were all related to higher levels of guilt. Furthermore, the moderating
role of IWA in the relation between IPV and guilt was significant.
The significant interaction was probed using the PROCESS (Model 1) computa-
tional macro (Hayes, 2012) by computing the conditional effects at 1 SD below and
1 SD above the mean of the moderator (i.e., levels of the IWA total score). Results indi-
cated that the relation between IPV and guilt was shaped by IWA level. Among par-
ticipants with lower IWA levels, the relation between IPV and guilt was
nonsignificant (β=0.06, p=.19); namely, there was no difference in guilt between par-
ticipants who reported IPV and participants with no IPV exposure. However, among
participants with higher IWA, the relation between IPV and guilt was significant
(β=0.23, p< .001), with participants who reported IPV exhibiting higher levels of
guilt than participants with no IPV exposure.
Table 1. Correlations Between Identification With the Aggressor and Guilt (n=700).
Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Guilt –
2. Adopting the
perpetrator’s
experience
0.43*** –
3. Identifying with the
perpetrator’s aggression
0.29*** 0.72*** –
4. Replacing one’s agency
with that of the
perpetrator
0.39*** 0.68*** 0.50*** –
5. Becoming hypersensitive
to the perpetrator
0.25*** 0.65*** 0.50*** 0.50*** –
6. IWA total score 0.42*** 0.94*** 0.81*** 0.80*** 0.77*** –
M2.09 26.35 21.83 34.91 32.91 28.37
(SD) (0.96) (22.81) (25.57) (26.04) (27.42) (21.08)
Note.IWA=identification with the aggressor.
** p< .01. *** p< .001.
8Violence Against Women 0(0)
Discussion
Guilt among survivors of IPV might affect their coping and mental health, and it is
therefore vital to understand the factors that contribute to this dynamic (Karakurt
et al., 2014). For example, guilt can play into survivors’fear of ending the relationship
with the aggressor, leading to the continuation of a problematic relationship (Cala et al.,
2016). In this study, we explored for the first time the relation between guilt and IWA
as well as the moderating role of IWA in the relation between IPV and guilt. Our study
hypotheses were supported. We found that IPV survivors reported higher levels of guilt
compared to controls, and that IWA was related to guilt: The higher the scores in adopt-
ing the perpetrator’s experience, identifying with the perpetrator’s aggression, replac-
ing one’s agency with that of the perpetrator, and becoming hypersensitive to the
perpetrator, the higher the levels of guilt. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that
the moderating role of IWA in the relation between IPV and guilt was significant:
Whereas among participants with lower IWA levels, there was a nonsignificant relation
between IPV and guilt, among participants with higher IWA, the relation between IPV
and guilt was significant, so that participants who reported IPV had elevated guilt com-
pared to participants without a history of IPV.
Our findings, indicating higher levels of guilt among the IPV group compared to
controls, are in line with previous research (Beck et al., 2011; Kubany, Abueg,
et al., 1995; Kubany, Bauer, et al. 1995; Kubany et al., 2004; Kubany & Watson,
2002). Elevated guilt among IPV survivors may be due to having experienced feelings
of powerlessness and betrayal at the hands of their partners, stigma from others, or
being forced to engage in sexual or abusive acts or experiences against their will. It
is possible that guilt provided these women with a meaning-making opportunity—
that is, a chance to make meaning of their experience—as well as a sense of control
over their isolation and abuse (Draucker, 1995; Whiffen & MacIntosh, 2005). As
Table 2. Regression βStandardized Coefficients Predicting Guilt (n=700).
Guilt
βR
2
Age −0.14*** .31
Relationship status −0.07
Education −0.01
Depression symptoms 0.25***
IPV status 0.14***
IWA total score 0.27***
IPV status X IWA total score 0.09**
Note. IWA =identification with the aggressor. Relationship values: 0 =not in a relationship, 1 =in a
relationship. IPV status values: 0 =no IPV, 1 =IPV. Education values: 0 =high school education, 1 =
postsecondary education.
** p < .01. *** p < .001.
Siegel et al. 9
Schmideberg (1956, p. 475) wrote, “Guilt implies responsibility; and however painful
guilt is, it may be preferable to helplessness.”
Guilt in survivors of IPV may be linked to stigma, which is the result of having a
socially devalued identity (Crocker et al., 1998). IPV victims may internalize societal
messages about their deservingness of the abuse (Overstreet & Quinn, 2013) and the
belief that they are worthy of the abuser’s blame and violence. Depression may also
explain elevated guilt among this population (Beck et al., 2015; Browne et al.,
2015). Findings of a meta-analysis of 37 studies on IPV and depression indicated
that women who had been exposed to IPV had a two- to three-fold increase in risk
for major depressive disorder and a 1.5- to 2-fold increased risk of elevated depressive
symptoms and postpartum depression, compared to women not exposed to IPV
(Beydoun et al., 2012). These elevated rates of depression may, in turn, contribute
to IPV survivors’guilt, given that an elevated sense of guilt (consisting of guilty pre-
occupations, ruminations over minor past failings, and delusional beliefs of self-blame)
is one of the byproducts of depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Findings of a previous study that revealed associations between depression and nega-
tive thoughts about the self in female survivors of IPV (Beck et al., 2015), as well as
our current findings indicating that depression significantly explains guilt, support this
line of thought.
Lastly, the strong bonds between some abuse victims and their perpetrators may
contribute to elevated guilt among survivors of IPV. Our innovative results indicate
that IWA is related to elevated guilt and that it moderates the relation between IPV
and guilt above and beyond background characteristics as well as depression.
Specifically, we found that whereas among participants with lower IWA levels,
there was a nonsignificant relation between IPV exposure and guilt, among participants
with higher IWA, the relation between exposure to IPV and guilt was significant. That
is, participants who reported IPV had elevated guilt compared to participants without a
history of IPV. Thus, it appears that it is not the IPV per se that is related to guilt, but
rather the combination of IPV and elevated levels of IWA that may fuel or exacerbate
guilt.
The current findings regarding the moderating role of IWA in the relation between
IPV and guilt are in line with the theory of IWA (Ferenczi, 1932, 1933; Frankel, 2002;
Lahav, 2021a). Different facets of IWA may contribute to elevated guilt among survi-
vors in the aftermath of IPV. When victims lose their agency, as part of IWA, they may
become disconnected from their own needs and feelings and may not be able to eval-
uate the abuse accurately. Instead, detached and distorted attributions of the abuse may
be formed among those victims. Additionally, introjecting their perpetrator’s aggres-
sion as part of IWA may lead victims who identify with their abusers to direct hostility
toward themselves. This process, in turn, could be manifested in self-destructive
behaviors and negative appraisals of themselves in the form of harsh and punitive self-
accusation. Lastly, two elements of IWA, consisting of being hypersensitive toward the
perpetrator and adopting the perpetrator’s experience regarding the abuse, may lead
IPV survivors to take on their partners’“badness”and blame themselves for the
abuse (Lahav et al., 2020). Violent partners have been found to victim-blame
10 Violence Against Women 0(0)
(Jackson et al., 2001), attributing blameworthiness to their partners’qualities, such as
personality traits (i.e., “She is a lazy person”) and behaviors (i.e., “She left the house a
big mess”), or accusing the victims of having nefarious intentions (i.e., infidelity).
Becoming attuned to their partners’inner experience and assuming their partners’
viewpoint regarding the abuse, as part of IWA, may be essential for IPV victims’sur-
vival. These responses may enable victims who identify with their aggressors to
appease their violent partners and/or to foresee potential hazards and, in that way,
prevent violence escalations. Nonetheless, IWA seems to have significant repercus-
sions in the long term, and may lead some IPV survivors to introject guilt feelings
over the abuse, potentially posing a considerable obstacle to their recovery processes
(Lahav 2021a, in press).
This study should be considered in light of its limitations. First, this study was based
on self-response questionnaires which may be subject to response biases and shared
method variance. Additionally, the current study was cross-sectional. Thus, readers
should be cautious about assuming causal relationships between the study’s variables;
it would ideally be of interest to examine IWA and guilt among victims of IPV over
time. Third, given that this study was planned long before the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the virus and its repercussions were not measured as a stressor,
even though data collection began a short time after the outbreak of the pandemic.
Women with IPV were found to have experienced a worsening of violence during
the pandemic (Evans et al., 2020; Gupta & Stahl, 2020). Thus, factors related to the
COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the current results. Lastly, this study was con-
ducted among a convenience sample of Israeli women. It would also be of interest for a
future study to replicate the methodology used here, but to instead examine a more het-
erogeneous sample consisting of males as well, as women have been found to have
higher levels of guilt (Else-Quest et al., 2012).
Nonetheless, the present study has important implications. Although Ferenczi’s
theory predominantly focuses on childhood abuse (Frankel, 2002), the present findings
indicate that IWA also takes place among survivors of IPV and may be a key element in
explaining guilt among IPV survivors. IPV survivors who have high levels of identi-
fying with their former abusive partners may be particularly susceptible to feeling
guilty over their abuse. Guilt among IPV survivors may not only cause emotional
pain, but may also intensify avoidant coping strategies (Kubany & Manke, 1995;
Street et al., 2005) and serve as a barrier to therapeutic change (Pugh et al., 2015).
Hence, the present findings suggest that IWA should be addressed in clinical interven-
tions for IPV survivors. Clinicians should consider focusing on helping their patients
work through and gradually untie their emotional bonds to their former abusive part-
ners, as a way to alleviate their suffering and free them from feeling guilty over their
traumatic past.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.
Siegel et al. 11
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article
ORCID iD
Yael Lahav https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1242-9042
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Author Biographies
Alana Siegel, Psy.D., is a Research Fellow in the Department of Occupational Therapy as well as
an Instructor at Tel Aviv University. She is also a psychologist in private practice. Dr. Siegel’s
research interests focus on the implications of trauma and on factors that promote resilience and
coping.
Elit Shaked is an ungraduate student in the Department of Occupational Therapy, The Stanley
Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University.
Yael Lahav, PhD, is licensed clinical psychologist and a senior lecturer in the Department of
Occupational Therapy, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of
Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Her research interests revolve primarily around the unique rela-
tions between the psychological, interpersonal, somatic, and physiological facets of psycholog-
ical trauma.
Siegel et al. 15
