Does trauma in childhood influence emotional dynamics in adult sexual relationships?

A study of couples in Canada found that individuals who reported greater exposure to childhood trauma tended to experience slightly fewer positive emotions and slightly more negative emotions during a sexual conflict with their partner. These individuals also tended to report slightly higher levels of attachment anxiety. The paper was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Childhood trauma refers to serious adverse experiences during childhood that overwhelm a child’s ability to cope and can have lasting psychological effects. These may include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; neglect; witnessing domestic violence; the loss of a parent; or chronic exposure to instability or danger.

Traumatic events can disrupt normal brain development and affect memory, emotion regulation, and learning. Children exposed to trauma may develop anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or behavioral issues. They may struggle with trust, self-esteem, and forming healthy relationships later in life. The impact of trauma often persists into adulthood, influencing physical health, mental well-being, and social functioning.

Study author Noémie Bigras and her colleagues set out to examine whether greater childhood trauma is associated with the duration of experienced and expressed positive and negative emotions during a sexual conflict discussion between romantic partners. They also explored whether attachment anxiety and avoidance mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and these emotional responses.

In this context, sexual conflict refers to an eight-minute discussion about the most important sexual problem identified by one or both partners in a couple. Attachment avoidance and anxiety are two dimensions of adult attachment. Attachment avoidance reflects discomfort with closeness, emotional distancing, and self-reliance. Attachment anxiety reflects fear of rejection, preoccupation with the relationship, and a need for reassurance and closeness.

Free daily newsletter

Study participants were 151 couples recruited from two Canadian cities through online advertisements, posters, and word of mouth between May 2019 and January 2020. To be eligible, participants needed to be at least 18 years old, have a history of sexual activity with their partner (broadly defined), be fluent in French or English, be in a monogamous relationship, and have lived with their current partner for at least one year.

As part of the study, couples took part in a laboratory session that involved four discussion tasks: a five-minute warm-up discussion about everyday events; an eight-minute discussion of a previously undisclosed personal positive experience; an eight-minute discussion about their most significant sexual concern (the sexual conflict task); and a five-minute cooldown discussion about each other’s attractive qualities.

Participants also completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (short form) and the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire to assess trauma history and attachment style, respectively. After the sexual conflict discussion, they reported the emotions they experienced using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. In addition, the researchers assessed the duration of emotional experiences and expressions during the conflict by analyzing video footage using joystick-based continuous ratings provided by the participants and trained observers.

The results showed that individuals with higher levels of childhood trauma tended to report experiencing slightly fewer positive emotions and slightly more negative emotions following the sexual conflict. They were also observed and self-reported to have shorter durations of positive emotions during the interaction.

Greater trauma exposure was also associated with slightly higher attachment anxiety. Statistical modeling indicated that attachment anxiety helped explain (i.e., mediated) the link between childhood trauma and post-discussion emotional responses. Specifically, individuals with greater trauma histories tended to have higher attachment anxiety, which in turn was linked to more negative and fewer positive emotional experiences during the conflict.

“Results showed how the experience of childhood trauma both by itself and via attachment anxiety can make conflictual discussions surrounding sexuality more triggering and distressing and therefore elicit more difficult emotions to recover. As positive emotions appear to be processed differently than negative emotions, results also invite clinicians and researchers to not dwell exclusively on the manifestations of negative emotions in the aftermath of childhood trauma,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between childhood trauma and experiences in sexual conflict. However, it should be noted that the reported associations were all very weak, almost negligible. Additionally, the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results.

The paper, “Attachment Insecurity Mediates the Associations Between Childhood Trauma and Duration of Emotions During a Laboratory‑Based Sexual Confict Discussion Among Couples,” was authored by Noémie Bigras, Natalie O. Rosen, Justin P. Dubé, Marie‑Ève Daspe, Myriam Bosisio, Katherine Péloquin, and Sophie Bergeron.