The structural associations among childhood traumas, attachment dimensions, and relational needs

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the combined effect of childhood traumas and insecure attachment on relational needs. We hypothesized that childhood traumas and insecure adult attachment dimensions would be negatively associated with the satisfaction of relational needs. Employing a fully latent structural equation model (SEM), childhood traumas and insecure attachment dimensions were expected to account for a significant variance in satisfaction with relational needs. Three hundred sixty-four adults aged between 18 and 63 voluntarily completed three self-report scales via an online survey. Correlation results demonstrated that anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions were negatively associated with satisfaction in all relational needs. As the level of childhood traumas increased, satisfaction with relational needs decreased. Multiple regression analysis indicated that anxious and avoidant attachment, along with emotional neglect and physical neglect significantly predicted lower relational needs satisfaction. The results of SEM revealed that insecure attachment and childhood trauma, as latent variables, had shared effects on the decrease in satisfaction of relational needs and explained 60% of the variance in satisfaction with relational needs. These findings suggest that abuse, neglect in childhood, and insecure attachment are factors that might have a negative impact on the satisfaction of these relational needs. This understanding has the potential to inform psychotherapy practices.