The effect of childhood traumas on marital adjustment in married individuals: The mediating role of emotional schemas

In this study, the relationships between childhood psychological traumas, emotional schemas, and marital adjustment are discussed. The study, it was aimed to examine the mediating role of emotional schemas in the relationship between childhood abuse/neglect experiences and marital adjustment of married individuals. The sample of the study consists of a total of 713 participants aged between 20 and 60. Participants' data were obtained through Demographic Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II), and Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). While the relations between the variables were investigated by Pearson correlation analysis, the Bootstrapping method in Process Macro was preferred for mediation analysis. According to the results, there was a moderately positive relationship between childhood psychological traumas and dysfunctional emotional schemas, while moderate negative relationships were found between childhood psychological traumas and marital adjustment. In addition, dysfunctional emotional schemas and marital adjustment were found to be negatively correlated at a moderate level. When the mediating effect of emotional schemas was examined, it was seen that negative emotional schemas partially mediated the relationship between childhood psychological traumas and marital adjustment. The findings obtained from the study were discussed in the context of the relevant literature.