Exploring the moderated mediation of self-differentiation in the relationship between childhood trauma and partner abuse.

OBJECTIVES

This study examines the role of self-differentiation as a potential protective factor that may buffer individuals from the detrimental impact of childhood trauma on the health of relationships.

METHODS

This study tests the mediating process of submissive behavior in the relationship between exposure to childhood trauma and the experience of partner abuse, while determining whether self-differentiation moderates the indirect path.

RESULTS

Data were collected from 239 (Male=82, Female=157) individuals in romantic relationships. The moderated mediation model was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 14). Study findings indicated that childhood trauma was associated with both submissive behavior (β = 0.25, p = .02) and experience of partner abuse (β = 0.04, p < .001). However, submissiveness did not directly predict abuse (β = 0.01, p = .34). Self-differentiation was found to significantly moderate the relationship between submissive behavior and partner abuse (β = -0.02, p = .04), with submissiveness significantly predicting experience of partner abuse only among individuals with low levels of self-differentiation. These results indicated that self-differentiation can shape the association between submissive tendencies and partner abuse, however the moderated mediation model was not statistically significant.

DISCUSSION: The results of this study underscore self-differentiation as the psychological resource potentially minimizing the risk of maladaptive relational outcomes in trauma-exposed individuals. Future research should examine whether enhancing self-differentiation could play a role in trauma-informed interventions, as current findings are exploratory and based on cross-sectional data.