structural modeling of the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological distress mediated by psychological adaptation

Background: negative childhood experiences and emotional distress can influence the quality of a relationship. the present study identifies these factors to explain the structural pattern of relationship quality based on childhood trauma and distress with the mediating role of psychological adaptation.  methods: this is an applied study regarding objectives and a descriptive-correlational structural equation-type study regarding implementation. the statistical population includes men and women (aged 18-60 years) in tehran city, iran in 2020-2021, of which 444 people were selected using the convenience sampling method. study instruments include the childhood trauma questionnaire, psychological distress, qualitative relationship quality, and personality assessment questionnaire for adults. the data were analyzed using the spss software, version 21, and amos software, version 21 using structural equation modeling.results: childhood trauma (β=-0.135), psychological distress (β=-0.198), and psychological adaptation (β=-0.256) have direct and negative effects (p<0.01) on relationship quality and childhood trauma (β=-0.082). meanwhile, psychological distress (β=-0.146) has an indirect effect through psychological adaptation (p<0.01) which has a negative and significant impact on relationship quality. the fit indices of the structural model after minor modifications were all at an acceptable level and the model was assessed to show a good fit to the data.conclusion: psychological adaption mediates the relationship between childhood trauma psychological distress and relationship quality. therefore, it is beneficial to develop interventions that regulate emotions, reduce the impact of trauma on children, and improve mental adaptation.