Emotional Neglect

As an important event in the life of a person, childhood trauma demonstrates its aftermath through post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, besides shaping a person’s self-perception and identity. The three main characters in Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn suffer from multiple categories of trauma, including generational emotional abuse by female abusers. Therefore, it enables the possibility of having a psychoanalytical study of the novel concentrated on childhood trauma in three generations, with the help of trauma studies as elaborated by Judith Herman. This study aims at applying her trauma theory to Flynn’s work in order to unfold the traumatic childhood of its protagonist, Camille Preaker, and two other characters. The study illustrates that Preaker's relationship with her family is affected by memories of emotional neglect and self-harm, and how her identity and relationships have been influenced by trauma. Examining the initial traumatic events can aid in comprehending the characters' conduct, as it is the trauma that influences their social interactions and reactions to circumstances. The research indicates that childhood trauma, particularly emotional abuse from female abusers across generations, has enduring effects on mental health, such as changes in personality and loss of identity.

Aim: This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and the quality of a marital quality with the mediating role of defensiveness and mindfulness relationship. Method: The current research was descriptive and correlational using the structural equation modeling method. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all the married people of Tehran city in the fall of 2023, and 420 of them were selected from four psychology centers through an online call by the convenience sampling method. The tools of this research include relational-connectivity (R-C S, Galovan, 2021), relationship sabotage scale (RSS, Peel and Caltabiano, 2021), mindfulness relationship measure (RMM, Kimmes et al., 2017) and childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ, Bernstein et al., 2003). The data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method with AMOS-24. Findings: The results indicated the appropriate fit of the model. The findings indicated that defensiveness and relationship mindfulness could predict the quality of marital relationship indirectly through neglect (p > 0.001). However, defensiveness and mindfulness in relation to emotional abuse did not predict the quality of marital relationships (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Relationship mindfulness and defensiveness play important roles in how childhood neglect impacts relationship quality. These findings underscore the necessity for interventions in marital relationships where childhood emotional neglect has occurred, as these couples may exhibit lower levels of relationship mindfulness and a greater tendency towards defensive behaviors. Therefore, therapy and support programs that target these areas may be particularly beneficial for enhancing relationship quality.