Trauma Symptoms, Social Support Processes, and Relationship Satisfaction in Newlywed Couples with Histories of Child Maltreatment

Abstract

Many survivors of childhood maltreatment face lifelong problems with relationships, including difficulties with healthy communication and martial satisfaction. Given the increased prevalence and severity of trauma symptoms in survivors of childhood maltreatment, it is important to examine relationship factors that contribute to reduced relationship satisfaction in survivors. Further, there is a paucity of longitudinal, empirical research on couples where both partners have histories of trauma (dual-trauma couples). Therefore, the current study aimed to explore negative social support provision and self-disclosure as mechanisms through which trauma symptoms might impact relationship satisfaction among couples in which both partners have been exposed to childhood maltreatment. At baseline, couples completed self-report measures of trauma symptom severity and were observed in a social support task to measure the frequency of their negative social support provision. One year later, couples self-reported the frequency of their self-disclosure and two years later completed a self-reported measure of marital satisfaction. Higher trauma symptom severity predicted lower marital satisfaction, and negative social support provision predicted lower confiding frequency, among selves and partners. Further, effects emerged such that confiding frequency predicted each person’s (but not their partner’s) relationship satisfaction. The current study extends the literature by demonstrating these associations longitudinally and highlighting implications for clinical practice with dual trauma couples.