Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2019 Apr;48(3):803-814. doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1309-1. Epub 2018 Oct 23.
Trauma theories suggest that childhood maltreatment (CM) may partly explain intimacy problems in romantic relationships. However, empirical studies have yielded conflicting findings, likely due to the varying conceptualizations of intimacy. Findings that support long-term negative effects of CM on sexual and relationship satisfaction are almost exclusively based on cross-sectional intra-individual data, precluding the examination of mediating pathways and of dyadic interactions between individuals reporting CM and their partners. This study used a dyadic perspective to examine the associations between CM and the different components of intimacy based on the interpersonal process model of intimacy: self-disclosure, perceived partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness. We also tested the mediating role of these intimacy components at Time 1 in the relations between CM and sexual and relationship satisfaction 6 months later. A sample of 365 heterosexual couples completed self-report questionnaires. Results of path analyses within an actor-partner interdependence framework showed that women and men's higher levels of CM did not affect self-disclosure, but was negatively associated with their own perception of partner disclosure and responsiveness. In turn, women and men's perception of partner responsiveness at Time 1 was positively associated with their own sexual satisfaction, as well as their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction at Time 2. Thus, perception of partner responsiveness mediated the associations between CM and poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction. The overall findings may inform the development of couple intervention that targets the enhancement of intimacy to promote sexual and relationship well-being in couples where one partner experienced CM.
创伤理论表明，童年虐待（CM）可能部分解释了浪漫关系中的亲密问题。然而，实证研究得出的结果相互矛盾，这可能是由于对亲密关系的概念化不同。支持 CM 对性和关系满意度产生长期负面影响的发现几乎完全基于横截面个体内数据，排除了对中介途径和报告 CM 的个体及其伴侣之间的二元相互作用的检验。本研究采用二元观点，根据亲密关系的人际过程模型：自我表露、感知伴侣的表露和感知伴侣的反应性，检验 CM 与亲密关系不同成分之间的关联。我们还检验了这些亲密关系成分在 CM 与 6 个月后性和关系满意度之间关系中的中介作用。一个由 365 对异性恋夫妇组成的样本完成了自我报告问卷。在演员-伙伴相互依赖框架内的路径分析结果表明，女性和男性较高水平的 CM 不会影响自我表露，但与他们自己感知到的伴侣表露和反应性呈负相关。反过来，女性和男性在第 1 次时对伴侣反应性的感知与他们自己的性满意度，以及他们自己和伴侣在第 2 次时的关系满意度呈正相关。因此，伴侣反应性的感知中介了 CM 与性和关系满意度较差之间的关联。总体研究结果可能为以增强亲密关系为目标的夫妻干预措施的发展提供信息，以促进在一方经历过 CM 的夫妻中促进性和关系健康。
