Citation

Francoeur A, Lecomte T, Daigneault I, Brassard A, Lecours V, Hache-Labelle C. J. Aggression Maltreat. Trauma 2020; 29(9): 1125-1142.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10926771.2019.1603177

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The current study investigated whether childhood maltreatment and social cognition (emotional regulation, mentalization, causal attributions) are associated with romantic breakup adjustment in youth (resilience, psychiatric symptoms, distress); and whether social cognition mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adjustment to romantic breakup. We assessed childhood maltreatment, social cognition, and romantic breakup adjustment in a sample of 482 university students who experienced a romantic breakup recently. Linear regressions and mediation analyses were computed. Childhood maltreatment was associated with romantic breakup adjustment when mediators were considered (p <.01) and when they were not (p <.01). Only emotional regulation was linked with measures of breakup adjustment (p <.01), while mentalization and personal control demonstrated relationships with resilience (p <.01) and psychiatric symptoms (p <.01; p <.05). Childhood maltreatment was indirectly associated with romantic breakup adjustment through emotional regulation (p <.05). Childhood maltreatment was indirectly associated with psychiatric symptoms through mentalization (p <.05), while childhood maltreatment was indirectly associated with romantic breakup adjustment through self-related mentalization (p <.05). The current study provides further evidence that emotional regulation and mentalization may act as protective factors on romantic breakup adjustment in the context of childhood maltreatment.

Language: en

Keywords

attribution; Childhood maltreatment; emotional regulation; mediation; mentalization; romantic breakup; social cognition; youth