The Relationship Between Childhood Emotional Neglect and Intimacy Avoidance in Women: The Mediating Roles of Rejection Sensitivity, Self-Compassion, and Attachment Anxiety
Keywords:
Childhood emotional neglect, intimacy avoidance, rejection sensitivity, self-compassion, attachment anxiety, womenAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between childhood emotional neglect and intimacy avoidance in women and to investigate the mediating roles of rejection sensitivity, self-compassion, and attachment anxiety within a structural equation modeling framework.
Methods and Materials: The present study employed a cross-sectional correlational design. The study population consisted of adult women residing in Canada during the 2025–2026 research period. A total of 548 women aged 18 to 62 years (M = 34.71, SD = 9.42) were selected through online convenience sampling and participated voluntarily. Data were collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form (CTQ-SF), Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Experiences in Close Relationships–Revised (ECR-R), and Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were performed using SPSS version 29. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses with 5,000 resamples were conducted using AMOS version 29 to evaluate direct and indirect relationships among the study variables.
Findings: The proposed structural model demonstrated excellent fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.22, CFI = .957, TLI = .951, GFI = .924, AGFI = .908, RMSEA = .047, SRMR = .041). Childhood emotional neglect was positively associated with rejection sensitivity (β = .58, p < .001), attachment anxiety (β = .29, p < .001), and intimacy avoidance (β = .17, p < .001), while negatively associated with self-compassion (β = −.44, p < .001). Rejection sensitivity positively predicted attachment anxiety (β = .45, p < .001) and intimacy avoidance (β = .23, p < .001). Self-compassion negatively predicted attachment anxiety (β = −.31, p < .001) and intimacy avoidance (β = −.18, p < .001). Attachment anxiety emerged as the strongest predictor of intimacy avoidance (β = .54, p < .001). Bootstrap analyses confirmed significant indirect effects through rejection sensitivity, self-compassion, attachment anxiety, and their serial pathways, indicating partial mediation.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that childhood emotional neglect exerts a substantial influence on women's intimacy avoidance through interconnected cognitive, emotional, and attachment-related mechanisms. Rejection sensitivity and attachment anxiety function as risk factors, whereas self-compassion serves as a protective factor. Interventions designed to enhance self-compassion, reduce rejection sensitivity, and promote attachment security may help mitigate the long-term relational consequences of childhood emotional neglect and improve women's capacity for emotional intimacy and healthy interpersonal relationships.
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