The mediator role of emotion regulation difficulties and dyadic coping in the relationship between childhood traumas and marriage satisfaction

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the mediating relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and the level of dyadic coping between married individuals' childhood trauma levels and marital satisfaction. In addition, it aims to examine the relationships between the concepts in question and consider them in terms of different sociodemographic variables. Method: The sample of the study consists of a total of 394 married individuals, 296 of whom are females and 98 of whom are males, with an average of 37.49±10.50, aged between 18-65. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-33), Marital Life Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and Dyadic Coping Inventory were utilized in the study. Data anaylsis involved independent samples t-test, one way Anova anaylsis, Pearson correlation anaylsis, simple linear regression anaylsis and PROCESS Macro for mediation analysis. Findings: According to the results of the study, childhood traumas positively predict emotion regulation difficulties; negatively predict dyadic coping. Childhood traumas and difficulties in emotional regulation negatively predict marital satisfaction; dyadic coping positively predicts marital satisfaction. Difficulties in emotion regulation and dyadic coping have a partial mediator role in the relationship between childhood traumas and marital satisfaction. Conclusion: Childhood trauma, emotion regulation difficulties, and dyadic coping were found to be predictors of marital satisfaction among married individuals. In the examined mediation models, it was found that emotion regulation difficulties and dyadic coping mediate the relationship between childhood trauma levels and marital satisfaction. Keywords: Childhood Traumas, Marital Satisfaction, Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Dyadic Coping