Effects of Early Abuse on Adult Intimate Relationships

早期虐待对成人亲密关系的影响

• 批准号: 7082669
• 负责人: CINDY M MESTON
• 金额: $ 15.36万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-05-01 至 2011-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7082669
• 关键词: behavioral /social science research tag; child abuse; clinical research; clinical trials; cortisol; depression; dyadic interaction; female; heart rate; human subject; human therapy evaluation; interview; patient oriented research; personal log /diary; posttraumatic stress disorder; psychological adaptation; psychological tests; psychometrics; psychosexual development; psychotherapy; sex abuse; sex behavior; substance abuse related behavior; therapy design /development

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Findings indicate that a history of childhood abuse (CA) is associated with the tendency to engage in high- risk behaviors and to experience a number of psychological disturbances known to adversely impact intimate relationships. Despite these well-substantiated findings, little research has examined the mechanisms by which these detrimental effects occur and/or are maintained in adulthood. The overall objective of the proposed investigation is to begin understanding these processes. To this end, we propose to conduct two studies and to further develop a codebook for human-aided content analyses of intimacy themes expressed in language. Study 1 will explore the potential mediational role of intimacy schemas, psychological adjustment (depression, PTSD, substance abuse), and physiological reactivity in the relation between CA and adverse intimacy consequences in adulthood. Information on intimacy schemas will be derived by conducting human-aided content analyses and computer-aided language analyses of control and intimacy- relevant essays written by 150 women with, and 150 women without, a history of CA. Cortisol and heart rate variability will be measured throughout the essay writing and will serve as indicators of physiological reactivity. Study 2 will be the first study to examine whether a writing intervention that focuses specifically on intimacy themes will impact intimacy adjustment among women with a history of CA. In other populations, Pennebaker et al. have found that writing about emotionally relevant themes causes beneficial changes in numerous psychological, behavioral and physiological indices. In Study 2,165 women with a history of CA and intimacy difficulties will be randomly assigned to write about either: 1) time management (control), 2) a past traumatic experience, or 3) intimacy-relevant schemas. Pre- and post- (1, 3, 6, months) writing intervention assessments will be conducted to examine the impact of the writing interventions on intimacy variables. If changes on intimacy outcome variables are seen, the degree to which changes in intimacy schemas, psychological adjustment, and physiological reactivity mediate these changes will be assessed. Education and SES will be tested as potential moderators or general covariates in both studies. The findings from this investigation will have implications for understanding both the psychological and physiological mechanisms that link CA with detrimental intimacy/relational factors in adulthood.

描述（由申请人提供）：调查结果表明，儿童虐待的病史（CA）与从事高风险行为并经历许多已知的心理干扰有关，从而对亲密关系产生不利影响。尽管有这些良好的发现结果，但很少研究研究了这些有害影响和/或在成年期间维持的机制。拟议的调查的总体目的是开始理解这些过程。为此，我们建议进行两项研究，并进一步开发一本用语言表达的亲密主题分析的代码手册。研究1将探讨亲密图案，心理调整（抑郁症，PTSD，药物滥用）的潜在中介作用以及成年后CA与不良亲密后果之间的关系中的生理反应性。有关亲密模式的信息将通过进行人辅助内容分析和计算机辅助语言分析的控制和亲密关系分析 - 由150名有150名女性和150名没有女性的女性撰写的相关论文。皮质醇和心率变异性将在整个论文写作中衡量，并将作为生理反应的指标。研究2将是第一个研究，以研究专门针对亲密主题的写作干预措施是否会影响具有CA史的女性的亲密调整。在其他人群中，Pennebaker等。已经发现，关于情感相关主题的文章会导致许多心理，行为和生理指标的有益变化。在研究中，有2,165名具有CA史和亲密困难的女性将被随机分配给有关：1）时间管理（控制），2）过去的创伤经历，或3）与亲密关系的模式。 （1、3、6，几个月）将进行写作干预评估，以检查写作干预措施对亲密变量的影响。如果可以看到亲密结局变量的变化，则将评估亲密模式，心理调整和生理反应性的变化的程度，以介导这些变化。在两项研究中，教育和SES将被视为潜在的主持人或一般协变量。这项调查的发现将对理解CA与成年后的有害亲密关系/关系因素联系在一起的心理和生理机制有影响。