Psychology of Violence, Vol 14(4), Jul 2024, 219-227; doi:10.1037/vio0000463
Objective: Childhood maltreatment has been consistently linked to problematic marriages. The pathways, however, linking childhood maltreatment to marital problems over time remain understudied. The present study examined trait anger and trait anxiety as possible mediators linking childhood maltreatment to marital quality, support, and strain over a 9 year period. It was expected that both trait anger and trait anxiety would mediate each of the associations. Method: Data were from a secondary data analysis of Midlife Development in the United States. A sample of 596 adults (50.2% female) were included in the analysis. The Midlife Development in the United States study is a longitudinal data set and the present study used data from those who participated in the three waves of data collection over a 9 year period. Structural equation modeling and bias-corrected bootstrapping procedures were used to examine the indirect effects from childhood maltreatment to marital functioning via trait anxiety and trait anger. Results: Results of the structural equation modeling mediational model indicated that the bootstrapped indirect effects from childhood maltreatment to marital quality (β = −.02, 95% CI − .054, −.005]) and marital support (β = −.02, 95% CI − .054, −.007]) were significant through trait anxiety. Trait anxiety did not mediate the association between maltreatment to marital strain. Trait anger did not mediate any of the pathways. Conclusions: Trait anxiety was identified as possible mediator linking childhood maltreatment to marital support and quality. Addressing trait anxiety among midlife adults may be a point of clinical intervention to improve marriages over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)