BMC Psychol. 2026 Jan 13. doi: 10.1186/s40359-026-03969-w. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study examines the role of self-differentiation as a potential protective factor that may buffer individuals from the detrimental impact of childhood trauma on the health of relationships.
METHODS: This study tests the mediating process of submissive behavior in the relationship between exposure to childhood trauma and the experience of partner abuse, while determining whether self-differentiation moderates the indirect path.
RESULTS: Data were collected from 239 (Male=82, Female=157) individuals in romantic relationships. The moderated mediation model was tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Model 14). Study findings indicated that childhood trauma was associated with both submissive behavior (β = 0.25, p = .02) and experience of partner abuse (β = 0.04, p < .001). However, submissiveness did not directly predict abuse (β = 0.01, p = .34). Self-differentiation was found to significantly moderate the relationship between submissive behavior and partner abuse (β = -0.02, p = .04), with submissiveness significantly predicting experience of partner abuse only among individuals with low levels of self-differentiation. These results indicated that self-differentiation can shape the association between submissive tendencies and partner abuse, however the moderated mediation model was not statistically significant.
DISCUSSION: The results of this study underscore self-differentiation as the psychological resource potentially minimizing the risk of maladaptive relational outcomes in trauma-exposed individuals. Future research should examine whether enhancing self-differentiation could play a role in trauma-informed interventions, as current findings are exploratory and based on cross-sectional data.
PMID:41527111 | DOI:10.1186/s40359-026-03969-w
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