Background

Psychological maltreatment may be one of the causes of adults' loneliness despite having a partner. There are some links between psychological maltreatment, self-criticism, relationship satisfaction, and loneliness in the literature. But the nature of these links requires further explanation.

Objective

The present study examined the serial mediation role of self-criticism and romantic relationship satisfaction on the pathway from childhood psychological maltreatment to loneliness, in a Turkish sample.

Participants and settings

In total 403 individuals (Female = 294, Male = 109) participated from 53 different cities in Türkiye. Participants were either dating (65.8 %), had a fiancée (4 %), or were married (30.3 %).

Method

The data was collected using Psychological Maltreatment Questionnaire, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Self-criticism Rumination Scale, and the Relationship Assessment Scale.

Results

Structural equation modeling results indicated that self-criticism and romantic relationship satisfaction fully mediated the impact of psychological maltreatment on loneliness. The model was a good fit [χ² (29, N = 403) = 63.846, p < .001; χ²/df = 2.20; SRMR = 0.061; RMSEA = 0.055; GFI = 0.969; CFI = 0.979; NFI = 0.963; IFI = 0.979].

Conclusions

Childhood experiences of psychological maltreatment can continue to haunt individuals, even as adults. Although being in a relationship can help individuals with their loneliness, psychologically maltreated adults may feel lonely in their relationships due to self-criticism and dissatisfaction. Interventions focused on childhood psychological maltreatment and self-criticism may help lonely adults. Along with this focus, relationship satisfaction can be addressed in family/couple counseling.

中文翻译：

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自我批评和恋爱关系满意度作为儿童心理虐待与孤独感之间联系的系列中介

背景

尽管有伴侣，心理虐待可能是成年人孤独的原因之一。在文献中，心理虐待、自我批评、关系满意度和孤独感之间存在一些联系。但这些链接的性质需要进一步解释。

客观的

本研究在土耳其样本中检验了自我批评和浪漫关系满意度在从儿童心理虐待到孤独的路径中的连续中介作用。

参与者和设置

共有来自土耳其 53 个不同城市的 403 人（女性 = 294，男性 = 109）参加。参与者正在约会 (65.8%)、有未婚妻 (4%) 或已婚 (30.3%)。

方法

使用心理虐待问卷、加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表、自我批评反思量表和关系评估量表收集数据。

结果

结构方程模型结果表明，自我批评和恋爱关系满意度完全中介了心理虐待对孤独感的影响。该模型非常适合 [χ ²  (29,  N  = 403) = 63.846,  p  < .001；χ ² /df = 2.20; SRMR = 0.061；RMSEA = 0.055；GFI = 0.969; CFI = 0.979；NFI = 0.963；IFI = 0.979]。

结论

Childhood experiences of psychological maltreatment can continue to haunt individuals, even as adults. Although being in a relationship can help individuals with their loneliness, psychologically maltreated adults may feel lonely in their relationships due to self-criticism and dissatisfaction. Interventions focused on childhood psychological maltreatment and self-criticism may help lonely adults. Along with this focus, relationship satisfaction can be addressed in family/couple counseling.