Fear of intimacy among married and divorced persons in association with physical abuse in childhood

In the current study, we investigated the association between physical abuse in childhood (PAC) and the fear of intimacy (FOI) in partner relationships. A total of 178 people, divided into the divorced (N = 70) and the married groups (N = 108), completed the questionnaire. We were interested in the differences in the FOI in partner relationships among men and women, with PAC as well as no PAC. We investigated these differences within both groups as well as between the two groups. There was a higher FOI among individuals with PAC. There was also a higher FOI among divorced persons with PAC than among married persons with PAC. In view of the two groups, the divorced group has a higher FOI than the married group. In general, the study showed that men with PAC have a higher FOI than women with PAC. doi:10.1300/J087v46n03_04 KEYWORDS, Fear of intimacy, physical abuse in childhood, relational family theory, divorce