The relationship between childhood traumas, forgiveness and marital adjustment

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of childhood traumas and forgiveness in predicting marital adjustment. Method: For this purpose, the sample of the study consisted of 344 married individuals (175 females, 169 males) between ages of 22-69 (mean age=41.07±11.04). Participants took part in the study on a voluntary basis. In order to collect data, Sociodemographic and Other Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS) and Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) were applied via an online survey platform. In the study, descriptive analysis, psychometric analysis of scales, Pearson correlation analysis, independent groups T-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), simple linear regression and multiple regression analysis were conducted by SPSS Statistics. Results: According to our results, childhood traumas and forgiveness significantly predicted marital adjustment. Marital adjustments were significiantly higher in those participants, who were males, who got married after a flirting period and who had no children. It was also observed that marital adjustment increased as the participants' age of marriage increased and the duration of marriages decreased. Conclusion: In the study, the predictive roles of childhood traumas and forgiveness on marital adjustment of married individuals were examined, significant findings were obtained and discussed in the light of the current literature. The results of the study are expected to guide the clinicians in understanding the related problems and thus in increasing marital adjustment. Besides in practice, may lead the clinicians about the importance of forgiveness and trauma experiences in childhood.