Dyadic Analysis of Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Marital Satisfaction During the Transition to Parenthood: The Mediating Effects of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Psychological Distress

Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) has been found to be associated with marital dissatisfaction. However, less attention has been paid to the married couples during the initial transition to parenthood from the perspective of both partners, as well as the underlying mechanisms by which parents’ CEM histories are related to marital satisfaction. The purposes of this study were to examine the relation between CEM and current marital satisfaction among first-time parents using dyadic analysis, and to test the serial mediating effects of emotion regulation strategies and psychological distress. A total of 156 couples during the transition to parenthood from mainland China reported on CEM, emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms), and marital satisfaction at 6 months postpartum. Results indicated that paternal depression significantly mediated the paths from paternal emotional maltreatment to paternal and maternal marital dissatisfaction. In comparison, maternal depression significantly mediated the link between maternal CEM and maternal marital dissatisfaction. In addition, the association between maternal CEM and maternal marital satisfaction was serially mediated by maternal cognitive reappraisal and maternal depression. This study highlights the importance of examining the link between CEM and marital satisfaction and its underlying mechanisms from the dyadic perspective.