Attachment Style and Emotion Dysregulation As Serial Mediators of Betrayal Trauma Experiences and Level of Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2020 Attachment style and emotion dysregulation as serial mediators of betrayal trauma experiences and level of satisfaction in romantic relationships Amanda Katherine Buduris Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Recommended Citation Buduris, Amanda Katherine, "Attachment style and emotion dysregulation as serial mediators of betrayal trauma experiences and level of satisfaction in romantic relationships" (2020). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 18100. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/18100 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Attachment style and emotion dysregulation as serial mediators of betrayal trauma experiences and level of satisfaction in romantic relationships by Amanda Katherine Buduris A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Psychology (Counseling Psychology) Program of Study Committee: Loreto Prieto, Major Professor Meifen Wei Carolyn Cutrona Warren Phillips Amie Zarling The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this dissertation. The Graduate College will ensure this dissertation is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2019 Copyright © Amanda Katherine Buduris, 2019. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................6 Betrayal Trauma...................................................................................................................7 Attachment .........................................................................................................................16 Emotion Regulation ...........................................................................................................29 Relationship Satisfaction ...................................................................................................35 The Present Study ..............................................................................................................64 Research Hypotheses .........................................................................................................66 CHAPTER 3: METHOD ...............................................................................................................69 Participants .........................................................................................................................69 Procedure ...........................................................................................................................71 Measures and Materials .....................................................................................................71 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...............................................................................................................78 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .........................................................................................................98 Betrayal Trauma.................................................................................................................98 Attachment .......................................................................................................................100 Emotion Regulation .........................................................................................................103 Relationship Satisfaction .................................................................................................105 Limitations .......................................................................................................................108 Future Research ...............................................................................................................111 Implications for Practice ..................................................................................................112 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................115 APPENDIX A. IRB APPROVAL ...............................................................................................138 APPENDIX B. INFORMED CONSENT ....................................................................................139 APPENDIX C. DEMOGRAPHICS & RELATIONSHIP HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE .......142 iii APPENDIX D. BRIEF BETRAYAL TRAUMA SURVEY .......................................................143 APPENDIX E. EXPERIENCES IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIP – SHORT FORM ....................144 APPENDIX F. DIFFICULTIES IN EMOTION REGULATION SCALE .................................145 APPENDIX G. INVESTMENT MODEL SCALE .....................................................................146 APPENDIX H. POST-HOC ANALYSES ..................................................................................147 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Participant Demographics ................................................................................................70 Table 2. Sample Means, Standard Deviations, and Ranges for Study Measures ..........................79 Table 3. Correlations Among Measures ........................................................................................83 Table 4. Number of Trauma Events Endorsed...............................................................................85 Table 5. Trauma Event Endorsement.............................................................................................86 Table 6. Age First Experienced Trauma Event ..............................................................................87 Table 7. Anxious Attachment and DERS Awareness as Serial Mediators of Medium-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ............................................................................92 Table 8. Anxious Attachment and DERS Clarity as Serial Mediators of Medium-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ............................................................................92 Table 9. Avoidant Attachment and DERS Clarity as Serial Mediators of Medium-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ............................................................................93 Table 10. Anxious Attachment and DERS Awareness as Serial Mediators of High-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ...........................................................................95 Table 11. Anxious Attachment and DERS Clarity as Serial Mediators of High-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ...........................................................................95 Table 12. Avoidant Attachment and DERS Clarity as Serial Mediators of High-Betrayal Trauma and Relationship Satisfaction ...........................................................................96 Table 13. Direct and Indirect Effects of Significant Serial Mediation ..........................................96 Table 14. Indirect Effect Comparison of Significant Serial Mediation Effects .............................97 Table 15. Original Significant Serial Mediation Pathways .........................................................148 Table 16. Post-Hoc Significant Serial Mediation Pathways ........................................................148 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Loreto Prieto, my graduate advisor and committee chair, for supporting me in exploring this field of research, and for his reminders to slow down and not take on too much at once. His continual encouragement, belief in my ability, and dedication to helping me complete my dissertation were so appreciated. I would also like to thank Drs. Meifen Wei, Carolyn Cutrona, Warren Phillips, and Amie Zarling, my committee members, for agreeing to be on my committee and for their excellent advice and willingness to answer questions and generate solutions. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to my family. To my partner, whose support, love, and reminders for self-care were endless and helped me make it through this process. To my cats, who encouraged me to take breaks by walking across or lying down on my laptop keyboard. vi ABSTRACT Betrayal trauma theory asserts that traumas imposed by trusted individuals are more detrimental than those traumas imposed by unknown individuals or nature, because of the level of mistrust and insecurity generated by these events in survivors. As such, individuals