This study of 1,492 emerging adults focuses on the relationships among negative family of origin experiences, attitudes about marriage, positive communication and the influence of past romantic relationships. The data used in this study comes from a survey questionnaire, READY (see www.relate-institute.org) completed by emerging adult participants (18-25). Results from the Structural Equation Model showed both aversive family of origin experiences and negative beliefs about marriage have a significant and negative influence on perceptions of romantic relationship experiences. Also, positive communication has a significant and positive influence on perceptions of past romantic relationships. However, positive communication did not mediate the relationships between negative family of origin experiences, attitudes about marriage, and the influence of past romantic relationship experiences. Implications for clinicians as well as directions for and content of future research on family of origin experiences, attitudes about marriage, and the influence of past romantic relationship experiences are explored.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-04-15T14:15:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Kelly Cardoso Paim.pdf: 344409 bytes, checksum: 0f6eee7b714c14bb6a4866cf91adf7b1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-15T14:15:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kelly Cardoso Paim.pdf: 344409 bytes, checksum: 0f6eee7b714c14bb6a4866cf91adf7b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-31 / Nenhuma / O relacionamento violento entre casais vem sendo entendido como um problema de saúde pública mundial e, ao longo dos últimos anos, muitos estudos se dedicam a compreender o fenômeno. Entretanto, não há unanimidade sobre as variáveis relacionadas a um padrão conjugal violento, revelando ainda uma carência de estudos explicativos que ajudem na elaboração de intervenções mais efetivas. Partindo-se do pressuposto de que a dinâmica conjugal violenta é um fenômeno complexo e interacional, a presente dissertação objetiva identificar variáveis que expliquem o desenvolvimento e a manutenção da dinâmica violenta entre casais, especialmente os Esquemas Iniciais Desadaptativos propostos por Jeffrey Young na Terapia do Esquema. O documento da dissertação está composto por dois artigos. No primeiro, é exposto um perfil discriminante entre sujeitos com histórico de violência física contra o parceiro íntimo na relação atual e os sujeitos sem histórico. No segundo, foi investigado o poder das experiências na família de origem e dos Esquemas Iniciais Desadaptativos como preditores da violência física cometida e sofrida na relação conjugal entre homens e mulheres. Para tal, foi realizado um estudo com 362 participantes, utilizando-se como instrumentos: Young Schema Quetionnaire (YSQ-S3), Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) e o Family Background Questionnaire (FBQ). Os resultados revelaram que os Esquemas Iniciais Desadaptativos, em especial do primeiro domínio esquemático, são variáveis fundamentais para a compreensão da violência física conjugal. Com isso, acredita-se que os resultados auxiliem na compreensão sobre a dinâmica das relações violentas, contribuindo para a elaboração de programas de prevenção e intervenção. Sugere-se que os tratamentos terapêuticos para casais em situação de violência devam estar baseados em intervenções que possam ir além dos comportamentos violentos, mas que considerem também os Esquemas Inicias Desadaptativos primários. / The violent relationship between couples has been understood as a public health problem worldwide and, over the past few years, many studies are devoted to understanding the phenomenon. However, there is no unanimity about the variables that explain the marital violence, also revealing a lack of explanatory studies that help in the development of more effective interventions. Starting from the assumption that marital violence dynamics is a complex and interactional phenomenon, this dissertation aims to identify variables that explain the development and maintenance of violent dynamic between couples, especially the Early Maladaptive Schemas proposed by Jeffrey Young in Schema Therapy. The document is composed of two articles. In the first one, is exposed discriminant profile among subjects with a history of physical violence against intimate partners and subjects without historic. On the second, we investigate the power of experiences in the family of origin and Initial Maladaptive Schemas as predictors of physical violence in the marital relationship between men and women. The results showed that Early Maladaptive Schemas, especially the first schematic domain, are fundamental variables for understanding the intimate physical violence. Thus, we believe that the results help in understanding the dynamics of violent relationships, contributing to the development of intervention and prevention programs. It is suggested that therapeutic treatments for couples in a violent situation should be based on interventions that go beyond the violent behaviors, but also consider the Early Maladaptive Schemas.

Decades of research have shown that family-of-origin experiences are generally important predictors of individuals' later relationship/marital quality. On average, the healthier these experiences are, the healthier adult children's relationships and marriages tend to be. The focus of this study was to investigate how coming to terms with difficulties experienced in the family of origin may enhance adult children's ability to create high quality relationships and marriages. The study employed a sample of 6423 U.S. couples, 18-45 years old, who were dating, cohabitating, engaged or married. This study showed that individuals in couple relationships who reported healthier family-of-origin experiences and those who had come to terms with difficult experiences in their families had higher relationship/marital quality than those who reported less healthy experiences and had not come to terms with them. Males in this sample were more likely than females to have come to terms with difficulties experienced in their families of origin, while females were more likely than males to believe that there was still something from their family experience that they were struggling with. Results showed that individuals may have utilized several factors to help them come to terms with difficulties in their families. Some of these factors may have been: being autonomous from the family of origin, being agreeable, extroverted, flexible, mature, spiritual, loving, having high self-esteem, being able to be empathetic and send clear messages while communicating with partners, spouses, or parents. Some vulnerabilities associated with coming to terms may have been: showing symptoms of depression, neuroticism, contempt, stonewalling, flooding, and being negative in relating to others. Results of this study suggest that the ability to come to terms with difficulties in the family of origin is related not only to the resource factors available for the individuals struggling but also to the resources utilized by their partners/spouses.