Studies of intimate relationships

Today, we’re looking at four articles that relate to intimate relationships. First, Lin, Chen & Guo (2025) published “Mapping the Relationships Among Bullying, Cyberbullying, Child Maltreatment, and Parental Intimate Partner Violence: A network analysis” in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

This study investigates the connections among various forms of violence experienced by adolescents, both online and offline, including bullying, cyberbullying, child maltreatment, and witnessing parental intimate partner violence (IPV). The aim was to elucidate the patterns of these adversities to enhance understanding from a child-centered perspective. We conducted an online survey with a sample of 934 parents (Mage = 41.05 years, SD = 4.76; Mchild’s age = 14.37 years, SD = 1.84) recruited across 30 provinces and districts in China in August 2023. Network analysis was used to examine the associations among four types of bullying (physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying), three types of child maltreatment (physical, psychological, and neglect), and two types of parental IPV (psychological and physical). Our findings revealed that cyberbullying victimization had the highest expected influence in the network, suggesting that it plays a central role in exacerbating other adversities. The four types of bullying were strongly interconnected, both online and offline. Parental psychological IPV and child psychological abuse experiences had the highest bridge expected influence in the network, indicating their role in linking various forms of victimization. The findings demonstrate that IPV can facilitate the transmission of adversities across different domains of a child’s environment. Understanding the intercorrelations of child victimization within and beyond the home can contribute to the development of a comprehensive child protection approach. 

The network relationships among different types of child adversity in our study suggest the need for proactive screening to address child poly-victimization. Cyberbullying is the most prevalent form of child adversity among family and peers. Therefore, it is recommended that schools collaborate with parents to promote cyber safety. Parental psychological intimate partner violence increases child adversity risks online and offline and should be screened for in clinical assessments of family dynamics. Integrated violence prevention approaches, grounded in a family context, are highly recommended for schools and other service centers in the efforts toward child protection. 

While the major focus of the article is on bullying and cyberbullying, I found the data on parental intimate partner violence (IPV) intriguing. Exposure to parental IPV increases the likelihood of bullying and cyberbullying. The next study also looks at the relationships between child abuse to intimacy but this time with a focus on the adult. Fitzgerald, Berthiaume & Schuler (2023) published “Pathways from Childhood Maltreatment to the Quality of Adult Intimate Relationships: Inquiry into mindfulness, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and attributions” in Traumatology. Here’s the edited abstract:

Childhood maltreatment is linked to lower quality intimate relationships in adulthood. Although emotional pathways have been considered, there has been less of a focus on cognitive processes that may extend from maltreatment and influence the couple relationship. Additionally, while the role of mindfulness is associated with cognitive and emotional processes as well as romantic relationship outcomes, it remains understudied in survivors of maltreatment. The current study examined mindfulness, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and attributions in a sequential (serial) mediational model linking maltreatment to relationship quality. A sample of 235 adults (89.9% female; Mage = 30.43) were recruited from two universities as well as an online sample. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The indirect effects from childhood maltreatment to relationship quality through posttraumatic stress symptoms and attributions were significant. The sequential indirect effect from childhood maltreatment to relationship quality through mindfulness and posttraumatic stress symptoms was significant. Findings from the current study indicate that both cognitive and emotional processes contribute to relationship quality and that mindfulness is a resilience factor reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms. Clinicians are encouraged to use mindfulness-based interventions to reduce posttraumatic stress while also considering the role of attributional processes. 

The findings are not surprising but I thought it was helpful to see the relationships among child maltreatment, IPV, and PTSD. It’s nice to know that mindfulness is a resilience factor. The next study also looks at PTSD. Liebman et al. (2023) published “Actor and Partner Effects of PTSD and Relationship Functioning in a Recently Traumatized Sample” in Journal of Family Psychology. The edited abstract follows:

A robust negative association exists between self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-reported interpersonal relationship functioning. However, the extent to which each member of a dyad’s subjective PTSD ratings influence the other’s subjective relationship functioning ratings is less understood. The present study tested: (a) associations between self- and partner-PTSD severity ratings and relationship functioning ratings and (b) whether exposure to the index trauma, gender, and relationship type (i.e., intimate vs. non-intimate dyad) moderated these associations in a sample of 104 dyads of individuals with PTSD and a close significant other. Each partners’ ratings of PTSD severity were uniquely and positively associated with their own (actor) and their partner’s ratings of relationship conflict, but not support or depth. Gender moderated the partner effect; women’s (but not men’s) subjective PTSD severity was positively associated with their partners’ subjective relationship conflict. There was a relationship type by actor effect interaction for relationship support, which indicated that perceptions of PTSD severity were negatively associated with each partner’s perceptions of relationship support for intimate but not non-intimate dyads. Results support a dyadic conceptualization of PTSD in which both partners’ perception of symptoms are important for relationship functioning. Conjoint therapies may be particularly potent for PTSD and relationship functioning. 

Here again we see connections between PTSD and intimacy. The final study looks specifically at women with brain injuries from IPV. Karr, White & Logan (2024) published “Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress in Women with and without Brain Injuries due to Intimate Partner Violence: Psychometric evaluation of measurement approaches and group comparisons” in Rehabilitation Psychology. The edited abstract and impact statements follow:

The current study examined the psychometric properties of common mental health questionnaires among women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) with and without brain injuries due to IPV and evaluated whether women with and without IPV-related brain injuries differed in depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Women survivors of IPV with and without IPV-related brain injuries were recruited online through Prolific (N = 205, M = 39.8 ± 11.9 years old, 83.9% non-Hispanic White, 42.4% college-educated). They completed the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition) (PCL-5). Model fit and internal consistency were estimated for each scale. Groups were compared on mental health symptom severity, with and without controlling for age, education, and IPV severity. Both one-factor and multifactor models showed excellent fit for all scales. PHQ-8 (ω = .91), GAD-7 (ω = .94), and PCL-5 total scores (ω = .95) had strong reliability, and all subscale scores had acceptable-to-strong reliability (ω range = .79–.94). Women with IPV-related brain injuries reported greater physical IPV severity, higher rates of depression, and higher somatic anxiety and PTSD symptom severity. No group differences in mental health symptoms were significant after controlling for IPV severity. Conclusions/Implications: The PHQ-8, GAD-7, and PCL-5 showed evidence for reliability and validity among women survivors of IPV. Women with IPV-related brain injuries had higher PTSD symptom severity, attributable to greater physical violence exposure in general. Brain injury screening among survivors appears warranted for women with extensive physical IPV experiences. Interventions addressing PTSD, violence prevention, and brain injury recovery may best serve this population. 

The total and subscale scores from eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire, seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition) showed evidence for reliability and validity among women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) with and without brain injuries. IPV-related brain injuries were associated with increased risk of mental illness and greater severity of PTSD symptoms, but this risk was attributable to greater physical violence severity experienced by survivors with brain injuries in general. Brain injury screening among survivors appears warranted for women with histories of extensive physical IPV experiences, and evidence-based interventions collectively addressing violence prevention, PTSD, and brain injury recovery may best serve this population. 

The consequences of such brain injuries are clear. I thought it was important to know that, if a woman reports extensive IPV, brain injury screening is warranted.