Posttraumatic cognitive attributions, belongingness, and life satisfaction in mother-daughter dyads.

People may experience cognitively dysfunctional processes during the posttraumatic phase, which can manifest as posttraumatic cognitive attributions reflected in their psychosocial lives. Challenges in meeting the need for belongingness are often linked to lower levels of life satisfaction. Therefore, this study adopts a dyadic perspective to explore whether belongingness mediates the association between posttraumatic cognitive attributions and life satisfaction within mother-daughter relationships as a distinct type of close bond. These relationships were examined using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) for the first time in the literature focusing on mother-daughter dyads. The study included 390 dyads, consisting of 780 adult participants in total. The results indicated that, for both mothers and daughters, life satisfaction and posttraumatic cognitive attributions were related to their own and each other's sense of belonging. This pattern was observed at both the actor and partner levels. Overall, the findings suggest that posttraumatic cognitive attributions are linked to dyadic processes that are relevant to both the individual's inner world and close relationships. Specifically, belongingness appears to be associated with higher life satisfaction following trauma, considering the experiences and interpersonal connections of both mothers and daughters. In addition to individual therapeutic work, it may be beneficial to address close emotional bonds such as mother-daughter relationships in an integrative manner. Interventions that strengthen belongingness may contribute to enhancing posttraumatic life satisfaction.