Traumatic bonding, also referred to as trauma bonding, is the process of an abuse victim developing a strong emotional bond with the perpetrator of the abuse. The two main factors that contribute to the establishment of a trauma bond are a power imbalance in the relationship and intermittent rewards and punishments. Intermittent rewards and punishments means that the abuser will be violent or cruel one day, and then be kind or loving another day; the victim endures the abuse in the expectation that the abuse will be temporary, albeit in a recurring cycle of abuse that predictably returns to abusive behavior.