title: Identity and relatedness as mediators between child emotional abuse and adult couple adjustment in women.
abstract: The empirical literature indicates that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) produces long lasting impairments in interpersonal relatedness and identity, often referred to as self-capacities. CEA has also been shown to negatively impact couple functioning. This study examined the role of identity and interpersonal conflicts in mediating the relationship between CEA and women's report of couple adjustment among 184 French Canadian women from the general population. Path analysis revealed that CEA was related to poorer couple adjustment through its impact on dysfunctional self-capacities and the experience of greater conflicts in relationships. Findings highlight the importance of assessing CEA to better explain couple adjustment in women with relationship difficulties and provide potential intervention targets based on the self-capacities framework.
authors.affiliation: Université du Québec à Montréal, Département de sexologie, 455 René-Levesque Est, Montréal, QC, Canada H2L 4Y2.
authors.forename: Noémie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bigras
authors.affiliation: Université du Québec à Montréal, Département de sexologie, 455 René-Levesque Est, Montréal, QC, Canada H2L 4Y2.
authors.forename: Natacha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Godbout
authors.affiliation: Université du Québec à Montréal, Département de sexologie, 455 René-Levesque Est, Montréal, QC, Canada H2L 4Y2.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.affiliation: University of Victoria, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 2050, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P5.
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Runtz
authors.affiliation: Université du Québec à Montréal, Département de sexologie, 455 René-Levesque Est, Montréal, QC, Canada H2L 4Y2.
authors.forename: Marie-Ève
authors.initials: MÈ
authors.lastname: Daspe
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child abuse; Couple adjustment; Identity; Relatedness