Child Maltreatment History and Subsequent Romantic Relationships

ABSTRACT

A sample of 174 college students involved in heterosexual dating relationships was studied to investigate the role of psychological distress in mediating links between child maltreatment (CM) history and current couple functioning. Females, but not males, with a history of CM reported greater levels of psychological and relationship difficulties than did non-maltreated women. Psychological distress among females was also found to mediate associations between abuse history and various aspects of couple functioning including intimacy, sexuality, and conflict resolution. No such relationships were found for males. The implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Key Words:

• Child maltreatment
• abuse
• dating
• couples
• psychological distress
• sexual abuse
• gender differences