Impacts of childhood adversity on relationships: Expressions of affection and social connection

Individuals who experience childhood adversity are more likely to develop mental health problems and struggle to form healthy emotional connections in adulthood. Prior work has investigated how childhood adversity affects interpersonal skills and attachment styles. However, it is unclear how experiencing childhood adversity shapes how adults show and receive affection. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between different types of childhood adversity and adult preferences for expressions of love. We hypothesized that different types of childhood adversity would impact adult giving and receiving preferences for expressions of love based on Chapman’s five love languages. Specifically, we hypothesized there would be a correlation between experiencing physical abuse and giving and receiving physical touch; experiencing verbal abuse and giving and receiving words of affirmation; experiencing emotional neglect and giving and receiving quality time; and experiencing sexual abuse and giving and receiving physical touch. Fifty-four participants completed an online survey containing questions about their preferences for giving and receiving expressions of love. Analyses demonstrated that individuals who experienced emotional neglect during childhood demonstrated a preference for showing affection through quality time, compared to individuals who did not experience emotional neglect. The results between experiencing verbal abuse and having a preference for giving words of affirmation revealed a potential connection, however, these results were not significant and should be repeated with a higher number of participants. Our findings provide insights into how the brain internalizes adverse childhood experiences and highlight the effects of these experiences in different aspects of adulthood.