The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Religious and Spiritual Struggles

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Educational Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D. Student of Educational Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between unfortunate childhood experiences and marital satisfaction, with a focus on the mediating role of religious and spiritual struggles.
Method: This was a type of correlational study. The researchers examined all couples in Tehran who had been married for 1 to 40 years. From this population, 240 individuals were selected using an available sampling method. Data was collected using the Enrich Couple Satisfaction Scale (1989), the Religious and Spiritual Scale (RSSS) by Exline et al. (2014), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) by Bernstein et al. The data was analyzed using the Pearson correlation test and structural equation modeling with the assistance of Microsoft Amos and SPSS 25 software.
Results: The findings of this study indicated that the relationship between childhood trauma and spiritual struggles is significant (p < 0.05). The role model mediates religious and spiritual struggles in the relationship between childhood trauma and marital satisfaction is well-fitting (RMSEA = 0.081, NFI = 0.93, IFI = 0.93, GFI = 0.91, CFI = 0.91). According to the results of the Sobel test, childhood trauma has influenced marital satisfaction with the mediating role of religious and spiritual struggles.
Discussion and Conclusion: It can be concluded that religious and spiritual struggles play a significant mediating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and marital satisfaction. Therefore, it is essential to take action to prevent and treat these struggles by raising awareness about the lasting impact of childhood trauma.

Keywords

References

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