A study of couples in Canada revealed that people who declared a greater exposure to infant trauma tended to feel a little less positive emotions and slightly more negative emotions during a sex conflict with their partner. These individuals also tended to report slightly higher levels of attachment anxiety. The document was published in the Sexual behavior archives.
Infantile trauma refers to serious unfavorable experiences during childhood which overwhelms the ability of a child to face and can have lasting psychological effects. These may include physical, emotional or sexual abuse; neglect; witness to domestic violence; the loss of a parent; or chronic exposure to instability or danger.
Traumatic events can disrupt the development of the normal brain and affect memory, regulation of emotions and learning. Children exposed to trauma can develop anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders or behavioral problems. They can fight with confidence, self -esteem and the formation of healthy relationships later in life. The impact of trauma often persists in adulthood, influencing physical health, mental well-being and social functioning.
The author of the study Noémie Bigras and his colleagues decided to examine whether a higher childhood trauma is associated with the duration of positive and negative emotions experienced during a discussion on sexual conflicts between romantic partners. They also explored whether the anxiety of attachment and avoidance mediate the relationship between infant trauma and these emotional responses.
In this context, sexual conflicts refer to an eight -minute discussion on the most important sexual problem identified by one or the two couple partners. The avoidance of attachment and anxiety are two dimensions of adult attachment. The avoidance of attachment reflects discomfort with proximity, emotional distancing and autonomy. The anxiety of attachment reflects the fear of rejection, the concern of the relationship and the need for reassurance and proximity.
The study participants were 151 couples recruited in two Canadian cities through online advertisements, posters and word of mouth between May 2019 and January 2020. To be eligible, participants had to be at least 18 years old, have a history of sexual activity with their partner (largely defined), commonly French or English, be in a monogamous relationship and have reached their current partner for a year.
As part of the study, couples participated in a laboratory session which involved four discussion tasks: a five -minute warm -up discussion on daily events; An eight -minute discussion of a personal personal experience not disclosed previously not disclosed; An eight -minute discussion on their most important sexual concern (the task of sex conflict); And a five -minute recharge time discussion on everyone’s attractive qualities.
Participants also fulfilled the questionnaire on childhood trauma (short form) and the questionnaire in close relationships to assess the history of trauma and the style of attachment, respectively. After the discussion on sexual conflicts, they reported the emotions they have known using the calendar of positive and negative affect. In addition, the researchers assessed the duration of experiences and emotional expressions during the conflict by analyzing video sequences using continuous ratings based on the joystick supplied by the participants and the trained observers.
The results have shown that individuals with higher levels of infantile trauma tend to point out to experience a little less positive emotions and slightly more negative emotions after sex conflict. They were also observed and self -deprecated to have shorter durations of positive emotions during the interaction.
A greater exposure to trauma was also associated with slightly higher attachment anxiety. Statistical modeling indicated that attachment anxiety has contributed to explaining (ie mediated) the link between infant trauma and post-discussion emotional responses. More specifically, individuals with larger trauma history tended to have higher attachment anxiety, which in turn was linked to more negative and less positive emotional experiences during the conflict.
“The results have shown how the experience of infant trauma both in itself and via attachment anxiety can make discussions confronted surrounding more trigger and more painful sexuality and therefore arouse emotions that are more difficult to recover. As positive emotions seem to be treated differently from negative emotions, the results also invite clinicians and researchers not to linger exclusively on the manifestations of emotions.
The study highlights the links between infant trauma and experiences in sexual conflicts. However, it should be noted that the associations reported were all very weak, almost negligible. In addition, the design of the study does not make it possible to derive from the results of the results.
Paper, “The insecurity of the attachment ensures the mediation of associations between infant trauma and the duration of emotions during a discussion on sexual comfort based on the laboratory between couples,Was written by Noémie Bigras, Natalie O. Rosen, Justin P. Dubé, Marie – -Eve Daspe, Myriam Bosiso, Katherine Péloquin and Sophie Bergeron.
