Emotional regulation and revictimization in women’s intimate relationships

The aim of the current study was to test whether women’s emotional regulation (ER) capacity moderates the relationship between childhood abuse and both adult intimate partner violence (IPV) and relationship quality. Female graduate students (N = 425), either married or in a long-term cohabitation, participated in an Internet-based survey. Structural equation model (SEM) multiple-group analysis was conducted to estimate whether the link between childhood abuse and marital outcomes varied across high and low levels of ER. The data showed that childhood abuse was associated with higher levels of IPV and lower marital quality. A high level of ER was found to buffer the association between child abuse and IPV. Among women with a low level of ER, childhood abuse had a stronger negative effect on relationship quality than for women with a high level of ER. ER is a protective factor against revictimization in intimate relationships.