Although the well-documented vulnerability of parents with childhood trauma to relationship difficulties and parenting stress during the perinatal period, existing studies have primarily focused on...Show moreAlthough the well-documented vulnerability of parents with childhood trauma to relationship difficulties and parenting stress during the perinatal period, existing studies have primarily focused on mothers and have not differentiated between various types of childhood trauma (Chamberlain et al., 2019; Prachason et al., 2023). This study aims to address these gaps by investigating the impact of a history of emotional abuse or emotional neglect on the quality of partner relationships among fathers. Additionally, this study examined whether parenting stress mediates this relationship while correcting for cultural background, socio-economic status (SES), and psychological problems of the fathers. It was hypothesized that a history of emotional abuse and emotional neglect in fathers would be associated with lower quality partner relationships, and that parenting stress would mediate this relationship. A sample of 191 fathers, recruited through voluntary response sampling, completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire- Short Form, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale-7, and the Parental Stress Scale to assess experiences of emotional abuse or neglect, the quality of the partner relationship, and parenting stress, respectively. Regression analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between emotional neglect and partner relationship quality, as well as between parenting stress and partner relationship quality. No significant effects were observed for other variables. Furthermore, parenting stress did not mediate the relationship in either model. In summary, the findings indicate that fathers with a history of emotional neglect and fathers with parenting stress experience diminished quality in their partner relationships. Given that partner relationship quality influences the well-being of fathers and affects child development, it is essential to provide support for fathers with a history of emotional neglect (Christie et al., 2017). By incorporating insights from follow-up research into effective interventions, the well-being of both fathers and their children can be enhanced.Show less
Children who experience child maltreatment are at higher risk for the development of mental health problems and problems when dealing with stressful situations, where emotion regulation is an...Show moreChildren who experience child maltreatment are at higher risk for the development of mental health problems and problems when dealing with stressful situations, where emotion regulation is an important mechanism. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between four types of childhood maltreatment and maladaptive emotion regulation. The sample consisted of 63 adolescents and young adults (Mage = 18.31, range 13-26). Several questionnaires were used to identify the adolescents' experienced child abuse and their maladaptive emotion regulation. Results showed a significant positive correlation between all types of maltreatment. Multiple regression analyses controlling for age and gender showed no significant relationship between any of the types of childhood maltreatment and emotion regulation. Thus, in contrast to the hypothesis experienced childhood maltreatment was not a predictor for maladaptieve emotion regulation. In conclusion, this study shows that the different types of childhood maltreatment are interrelated but do not uniquely predict emotion regulation. Future research can use this study as a starting point for more research into the unique effects of child maltreatment on maladaptive emotion regulation.Show less
ow self-esteem lies at the core of various psychiatric disorders. Emotional maltreatment during childhood is associated with low self-esteem and elevated sensitivity to social rejection later in...Show moreow self-esteem lies at the core of various psychiatric disorders. Emotional maltreatment during childhood is associated with low self-esteem and elevated sensitivity to social rejection later in life. However, it is unclear how childhood emotional maltreatment impacts on the extent to which moment-to-moment self-esteem is shaped by social evaluation. This study examined associations between retrospectively reported emotional maltreatment and self-esteem reactivity in response to social evaluation. Young adult participants (n = 78; 55 female) reported on childhood emotional abuse and neglect and current trait self-esteem. Since behavioural data collection was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I created a simulated dataset by matching participants’ self-report data to self-esteem responsivity data from other participants with identical trait self-esteem scores who performed a social evaluation task. Results showed that childhood abuse and neglect were negatively related to trait self-esteem. Task data revealed that approval increased self-esteem and disapproval decreased it. Simulated data showed no evidence of emotional abuse and neglect moderating self-esteem responsivity to social evaluation. These findings suggest that, while childhood maltreatment is linked to low trait self-esteem later in life, lower self-esteem is likely not caused by greater self-esteem reactivity to social evaluation. These findings highlight the need to research alternative pathways by which a history of emotional maltreatment may contribute to the maintenance of low self-esteem.Show less
