Early Childhood Antecedents of Dehumanization Perpetration in Adult Romantic Relationships

Authored by journals.sagepub.com and submitted by mvea

Data from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) were utilized to provide the first investigation into the early childhood antecedents of dehumanization (i.e., treating another as less than human) in adult romantic relationships. Drawing on a sample of 109 MLSRA participants, multiple assessments of maternal care and empathy were collected during infancy and early childhood. In adulthood, MLSRA participants and their romantic partners engaged in video recorded conflict discussions in which dehumanization perpetration was coded. Maternal hostility was a significant and unique predictor of dehumanization perpetration. This longitudinal association remained even when controlling for the partner’s displays of dehumanization and several demographic covariates. This study provides the first evidence of early childhood antecedents of dehumanization and highlights how experiences during the first few years of life can have enduring downstream consequences for people’s romantic relationships 20–30 years later.

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cutofmyjib on December 28th, 2020 at 15:25 UTC »

Please read "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, Or Self-Involved Parents" by psychologist Lindsay Gibson.

It's an approachable book that changed my life.

ghanlaf on December 28th, 2020 at 14:45 UTC »

Absolutely this. I was raised in a house where there was always an ear to listen, a joke to be told, and lots of love and togetherness. My wife didn't experience that as much, and even though we've been together for years due to her upbringing and the way her dad treated her and her family she still doesn't trust me or other men 100%. She's getting better due to more exposure to my family, but it's shocking to see the long term damage to one's psyche that can be done at a young age.

gregaffe on December 28th, 2020 at 14:25 UTC »

Also worth checking out are A.C.E. studies. Adverse childhood experiences and how they affect your health as an adult.