Stressful Life Events and Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection in the Perinatal Period: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia

Stressful Life Events and Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection in the Perinatal Period: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Stressful Life Events and Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection in the Perinatal Period: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia saira majeed, Farzana Ashraf This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7769923/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Stressful life events during perinatal period can significantly influence intimate partner relationship dynamics, leading to the negative relational perceptions. The current study explored the relationship between SLEs and intimate partner acceptance rejection across four dimensions; warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated-rejection, while analyzing the mediating role of alexithymia in these relationships. Using cross-sectional design, purposive sampling technique was employed to collect the sample of 284 participants. Participants completed self-report measures, assessing stressful life events, Alexithymia, and intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Regression and mediation analysis were conducted using SPSS and process MACRO by Hayes (2004). Findings revealed that SLEs significantly predicted reduced warmth-affection (β = –.380, p < .001) and positively predicted indifferent-neglect (β = .344, p < .001), hostility-aggression (β = .336, p < .001), and undifferentiated rejection (β = .336, p < .001). while alexithymia emerged as significant mediator in relationship between SLEs and intimate relationship dynamics. The findings highlight the significant influence of SLEs on relationship dynamics with alexithymia serving as potential psychological mechanism exacerbating the effect. The result emphasize the importance emotional regulations difficulties among perinatal women to reduce close relationship difficulties and promote healthier relationship and maternal well-being. Psychology Stressful Life Events Alexithymia Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection perinatal period maternal well-being Introduction The perinatal period marks a significant and transformative period in a women’s life that involves not only physical and biological changes but also psychological, emotional and interpersonal transitions (Bjelica et al., 2018 ). While the anticipation of motherhood may introduce feelings of joy, fulfillment and meaning, t also triggers a variety of mixed emotions, such as stress, vulnerability, and an increased sense of inadequacy (Tesfa et al., 2020 ). Due to increase in maternal responsibilities, risk of psychological distress also intensify, especially in women faced with significant life stressors, emotional dysregulation and reduced relational support. Such aspects may severely affect maternal and fetal health, emphasizing the necessity of examining the psychological context of the perinatal period in a relational and affective perspective. Stressful life events, characterized by significant disruptions that interfere with daily routine functioning and require psychological adaptations (Holahan et al., 2017). These events such as sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, bereavement, financial hardship and interpersonal conflicts have long been recognized as significant predictors of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes (Haight et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2022; Taylor et al., 2021). Studies have continually indicated that such stressors are linked to higher rates of low birth weight, premature births, delayed development, and future cognitive and psychological vulnerabilities of children (Chauhan & Potdar, 2022). Additionally, these stressors increase the risk of maternal depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and abnormalities in maternal-infant attachment, which ultimately impairs effective care giving and long-term emotional resilience (Morgan et al., 2020 ). Within this emotionally volatile context, intimate partner dynamics can serve as a critical buffer or have an exacerbating effect. For many women, A romantic partner is the key provider of emotional and practical support during pregnancy and postpartum. However, this relationship tends to be fragile to stress, particularly when stress is exacerbated by interpersonal communication issues, a lack of conflict resolution, or emotional distancing (Slomian et al., 2021). Major life events may destabilize a relationship, erode emotional availability and triggers feelings of abandonment or rejection (Riggs, 2019 ). This decline in relationship quality is particularly significant at the perinatal stage when female health is more susceptible to psychological and physiological signals of environmental safety and support. Several studies report that relationship dissatisfaction is alone a predictor of the increased exhibited depressive symptoms in expectant mothers whereas reviews have shown that poor emotional support, high conflict, and low communication additionally enhances psychological distress during this crucial stage (Antoniou et al., 2021; Schwarze et al., 2024). The experience of rejection by a close partner, manifested as coldness, indifference, hostility or emotional distance has profound implications for maternal psychological functioning. The Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory) suggests that perceived rejection of the significant others (romantic partners, in particular) predicts broad range of psychological challenges such as low self-esteem, emotional instabilities, and mistrust towards the people around them (Rohner, 2016). Notably, IPARTheory conceptualizes intimate partner acceptance-rejection as a multidimensional concept with four major domains: warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression, and undifferentiated rejection (Rohner, 2021). These dimensions offer a rather advanced paradigm to reflect the diverse forms in which emotional attunement or its absence appears in romantic dyads. Warmth-affection comprises love, empathy, validation, and nurturance displays to confirm the emotional importance of a partner (Khaleque & Rohner, 2011). Comparatively, indifferent-neglect indicates emotional detachment and non-responsiveness, whereas hostility-aggression connotes either verbal or physical expressions of injury. Undifferentiated rejection refers to the ambiguous form of emotional distance, where a spouse does not have to show excessive neglect or defensiveness but is still interpreted as emotionally inaccessible (Rothenberg et al., 2021 ). All these three dimensions of rejection have been linked to adverse psychological outcomes especially in emotionally demanding context like pregnancy (Perez et al., 2022). Although the significance of partner acceptance in shaping maternal mental health has been well-acknowledged, there is a dearth of studies investigating on how individual psychological profiles modulate perception and effects of partner behaviors. One particularly salient construct in this regard is Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and a cognitive style that is oriented toward external stimuli rather than internal emotional states (Nemiah et al., 1976). People with high alexithymia tend to have poor emotion management, low empathy, and compromised interpersonal communication (Alkan Härtwig et al., 2020). These traits complicate the experience of emotional intimacy, especially during high-stakes situations such as the perinatal transition (Mangialavori et al., 2024). During pregnancy, alexithymia can be particularly problematic because both partners are faced with larger emotional demands. Pregnant women with alexithymic tendencies may have a problem in expressing their emotional needs, reading the emotional cues of their partners, or empathizing with their relationship problems, leadings to misunderstanding, emotional distance and avoidance behaviors (Karukivi et al., 2014) Such challenges have been linked to elevated stress and depressive symptoms in pregnancy and postpartum (Monavar Gilanifar & Delavar, 2021; Marchand et al., 2017). Such process may be further exacerbated under stress,, where emotional responsiveness is especially needed but difficult to access. Research has consistently revealed, alexithymia in close relationship is linked with lack of empathy, insufficient emotional validation and decreased emotional intimacy, all of which are important to relationship quality (Fatemeh Zakeri & Rezaei, 2022). The current research is rooted in various complementary theoretical frameworks that describe how stressful life events can affect intimate partner acceptance-rejection in the perinatal period. Stress spillover theory (Neff and Karney, 2004), offers a contextual explanation which proposes that stress that is generated beyond a relationship tends to be transferred to the couple interactions defining how people perceive the actions of their partners. Affect regulation model (Gross, 1998) assumes that interpersonal problems can be aggravated by challenges in identifying and regulating emotions, especially when stress impairs the capacity to maintain emotional awareness. At the relational level, Intimate Partner Acceptance-rejection (IPAR) theory (Rohner, 2004) states that feelings of warmth, neglect, hostility and undifferentiated rejection have a significant impact on psychological adaptation and relationship satisfaction. These views combine to offer a consistent approach of exploring the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between stressful life events and perceptions of intimate partner acceptance-rejection among women in the perinatal period. The present study aims to analyze the mediating role of alexithymia in relationship between stressful life events and across four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection among women in perinatal period. Based on IPAR Theory and contemporary findings on emotion regulation, this study focuses on how stressful experiences can manifest into perceptions of acceptance and rejection during perinatal period through disruption in emotional awareness and expressions. Based on the prior literature the study hypothesized: H1. Greater exposure to stressful life events will be associated with: a) lower perceptions of partner warmth–affection, and b) higher perceptions of partner indifferent–neglect, hostility–aggression, and undifferentiated rejection. H2. Greater exposure to stressful life events will be positively associated with higher levels of alexithymia. H3. Alexithymia will be negatively associated with perceptions of partner warmth–affection and positively associated with perceptions of partner indifferent–neglect, hostility–aggression, and undifferentiated rejection. H4. Alexithymia will significantly mediate the relationship between stressful life events and each of the four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance–rejection (warmth–affection, indifferent–neglect, hostility–aggression, and undifferentiated rejection). By identifying alexithymia as potential mediator, the study aimed to contribute to the preventive measure and relational interventions, supporting maternal health during the transitional phase of life. Material and method Research Design The current study employed correctional, cross-sectional research design with convenience random sampling technique to ensure the accessibility and diversity of sample. Participants and Procedure The sample of the current study consisted of 284 women aged between 19–37 years ( M = 27.04, SD = 3.36) in perinatal period, recruited through purposive sampling from various public hospitals and private clinics across all over the Lahore Punjab. The women were allowed to participate if they were pregnant or six months postpartum, living with their spouse, and could understand Urdu. Women diagnosed with psychiatric disorders or major obstetric complications and cognitive impairments were excluded to maintain the internal validity of the study. The final sample represented a great variety of sociodemographic characteristics. The mean number of years of education was M = 7.23 (SD = 5.44), with qualification ranging from primary to graduate level. Majority of the participants were primary educated (47.2%), followed by middle education (25.4%), matriculation (11.3%), intermediate (12.0), and higher education (4.2%). In terms of pregnancy 88% were in their pre-partum and 12% were in post-partum period. The number of pregnancies ranged from 1 to 5 ( M = 3.08, SD = 1.06), with the largest group in their third (38.4%) and forth (32.7%). The number of children ranged from 1 to 4 ( M = 2.24, SD = 0.96), with 38.7% having two and 34.9% having three and 7.7% having 4 children. 7.7% of the participants reported a history of miscarriage. The family system was divided into two categories: nuclear family ( n = 103, 39.5%) and joint family ( n = 158, 60.5%). Monthly family income was between PKR 15,000 and 70,000 with 64.8% earning PKR 25,000 or less and 35.2% earning more than this. Prior to data collection, an ethical approval was obtained from relevant institutional review board and administrative permission was granted by the participating hospitals and centers. Informed consent was obtained and participants were briefed about the purpose, anonymity and confidentiality of the study. Data were collected using paper pencil and questionnaires. A Demographic Information sheet, the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire (IPARQ) were completed by each of the respondents. Sessions lasted 25–30 minutes and were conducted in private space to ensure comfort and privacy. Meassures 1- The Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ) SLESQ is a thirteen-item self-administered inventory developed by Goodman et al., 1998 that measures the lifetime trauma exposure for people who do not seek treatment (e.g., sexual abuse, physical assault, natural disasters, life-threatening illness). The respondent is requested to identify a dichotomous event (yes = 1, no = 2) along with other specific etiological dimensions related to the event, such as duration and frequency of the event, any death, or hospitalization.. Amongst the items are “Was physical force or a weapon ever used against u in a robbery or a mugging.” Higher score on the SLESQ shows more reported Stressful Life Events which has both actual and observed range from 0–9. In the present study the SLESQ demonstrated Cronbach’s alpha of .69, slightly lower than standard.70 threshold. Even though slightly lower than the standard .70 threshold, this level of internal consistency is acceptable because of the scale’s multidimensional structure and its coverage of diverse stressful experiences. 2- Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) The Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS), developed by Bagby et al. (1994), a 20-item self-administrated measurement, comprised of three subscales: Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF), externally oriented thinking (EOT). It quantifies the impaired ability to identify and describe emotions and externally oriented thinking. Every statement on the scale is answered on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree . The overall scale ranges from 20 to 100 points. Alexithymia is treated as a dimension, the higher the score on the scale, the higher its level. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability for the current study is .89. 3- Intimate Partner-Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire (IPARQ) The IPARQ (intimate Adult Relationship Questionnaire), developed by Rohner (2008), is a 38-item questionnaire that measures one's perceived acceptance-rejection and behavioral control with the intimate partner. This scale comprised four subscales: Warmth/Affection (12), Indifferent/Neglect (10), Hostility/Aggression (9) and Undifferentiated/Rejection (5). Every statement is answered on 4-point Likert-type scale from 1: rarely true to 4: almost always true . The items sample was “I am emotionally attached to my husband.”, My husband does not give me attention.” The Cronbach’s alpha across the four dimensions were as follow, warmth affection (.83), indifferent neglect (.79), hostility aggression (.71) and undifferentiated rejection (.61) respectively. Analysis Strategy Data were analyzed using IBM statistics version 26.0. prior to conducting analysis, Herman single factor test was performed to assess the presence of common method bias, given the self-report and cross-sectional nature of the data. Descripted statistics were computed by summarizing demographic characteristics. Pearson correlation analysis was computed to examine the relationship between stressful life events, alexithymia and dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Prior to the testing of the mediation model, a series of linear regression analyses were run to establish the extent to which stressful life events were significant in predicting each dimension of partner acceptance-rejection. This step defined the direct effects require to justify mediation analysis. Four mediation analysis were conducted using Process MACRO by Hayes (2004), with stressful life events as independent variable, alexithymia as mediator, and each dimension of acceptance and rejection as separate dependent variable. Pre- and post-partum pregnancy status were included as co-variates. The significance of indirect effects was tested by bootstrapping with 5000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). When the CI does not contain zero then the mediation effect is said to be statistically significant. This strategy offers a stringent way to test the sequential mechanism by which stressful life events contributes to the relationship dynamics. Results To assess common method bias, Herman’s single factor was conducted using principal component analysis. The findings indicated that the initial unrotated factor explained 19.3% of the total variation, a percentage below than the recommended 50%. This indicates that common method variance is not a significant concern in the research. While multicollinearity was assessed using VIF and tolerance values, and all variables had VIF values below 5, suggesting no multicollinearity issues. Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients of the study variables. Table 1 Descriptive Statistics and Pearson Correlations of the Study Variables (N = 284) Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 M SD 1. Stressful Life Events — 16.40 2.59 2. Warmth–Affection −.38** — 15.66 5.36 3. Indifferent–Neglect .18** −.29** — 14.66 3.76 4. Hostility–Aggression .27** −.34** .71** — 14.75 3.98 5. Undifferentiated Rejection .33** −.51** .40** .37** — 9.70 2.32 6. Alexithymia .30** −.49** .25** .26** .39** — 51.25 10.27 Note . N = sample size. M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation. * p < .05. ** p < .01. Table 1 represents descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation for study variables. The results exhibited significant correlation between study variables. stressful life events were significantly negatively correlated with warmth-affection ( r = − .38, p < .01) and were significantly positively associated with three dimensions of rejection involving indifferent-neglect ( r = .18, p < .01), hostility-aggression ( r = .27, p < .01), and undifferentiated rejection ( r = .33, p < .01). Alexithymia was significantly positively correlated with stressful life events ( r = .30, p < .01), and three dimensions of the perceived rejection, indifferent-neglect ( r = .25, p < .01), hostility-aggression ( r = .26, p < .01), and undifferentiated rejection ( r = .39, p < .01), however showing very strong negative correlation with warmth-affection ( r = − .49, p < .01). These trends confirm the theoretical hypothesis that stressful life experiences and emotional dysregulation (alexithymia) associate with decreased relational warmth and augmented feelings of partner rejection in different forms during the perinatal period. Testing Mediation Effect Multiple linear regression analysis were conducted using SPSS v 26.0 to analyze the predicting role of stressful life events and alexithymia on four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection: warmth-affection, Indifferent-neglect, Hostility-aggression and Undifferentiated-rejection (see Table 2 below). Table 2 Multiple Regression Analysis Predicting Intimate Partner Rejection Dimensions from Stressful Life Events and Alexithymia (N = 284) Regression eq. ( N = 333) Fit indicator Coefficient and significance Outcome Variable Predictor R R² F Β T Warmth–Affection SLE .380 .144 47.55** −.380 −6.90** Alexithymia SLE .496 .246 91.92** −.496 −9.59** Warmth–Affection SLE + Alexithymia .551 .304 61.40** −.253 −4.85** Indifferent–Neglect SLE .344 .118 37.90** .344 6.15** Alexithymia SLE .458 .210 74.94** .458 8.65** Indifferent–Neglect SLE + Alexithymia .506 .256 48.20** .200 3.60** Hostility–Aggression SLE .336 .113 35.79** .336 5.98** Alexithymia SLE .302 .091 28.29** .302 5.32** Hostility–Aggression SLE + Alexithymia .456 .208 36.87** .238 4.27** Undifferentiated Rejection SLE .336 .113 35.79** .336 5.98** Alexithymia SLE .302 .091 28.29** .302 5.32** Undifferentiated Rejection SLE + Alexithymia .456 .208 36.87** .238 4.27** Note. SLE = Stressful Life Events. R = Multiple correlation coefficient; R² = Coefficient of determination; F = F-ratio; β = Standardized regression coefficient; t = t-value. Each model includes SLE alone or in combination with alexithymia as predictors of each dimension of intimate partner acceptance–rejection. p < .01 for all regression coefficients and F-values. Table 2 depicts the mediation effect of Alexithymia across all dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection. For warmth-affection, stressful life events significantly predicted the outcome β = −.380, p .001). After adding alexithymia as a mediator, the explained variance increased to 30.4% ( R 2 = .304) and SLE continued to be a significant negative predictor of warmth-affection (β = −.253, t (297) = − 4.85, p < .001). In Indifferent-Neglect, SLE was marginally significant positive predictor (β = .399, t (298) = 7.32, p .001). When both stressful life events and alexithymia were included in the equation, the predictive effect of stressful life events remains significant (β = .256, p >. 001), and model explained 34.0%% of the variance in the indifferent-neglect ( R 2 = .340). Similarly, for Hostility-aggression, stressful life events was found to be significant predictor of outcome (β = .366, t = 6.59, p > .001), explaining 13.4%% of the variance in Hostility-aggression( R 2 = .134, F (1, 298) = 43.43). In model 2, alexithymia was also significantly predicted by stressful life events (β = .496, p > .001). After including alexithymia, stressful life events remained a significant predictor (β = .247, p > .001), together they explained 31.0% of the variance in the hostility-aggression ( R 2 = .310). Lastly, for undifferentiated-rejection, stressful life events significantly positively predicted the undifferentiated rejection (β = .408, t = 7.55, p < .001). The model explained 16.6%% of the variance in the undifferentiated-rejection ( R 2 = .166, F (1, 298) = 56.96). while in second equation, SLE again significantly positively predicted the alexithymia (β = 0.210, p = .001). including both predictors explained variance increased up to 31.0% ( R ² = .310) and SLE remained significant predictor of the undifferentiated-rejection (β = .247, p < .001) Overall, findings revealed that stressful life events significantly predicted all four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Specifically, significantly negatively predicted warmth-affection and positively predicted indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated rejection. Moreover, SLE significantly predicted alexithymia across all dimensions. The addition of alexithymia improved model fit across all dimensions of intimate relationships, highlighting its significant influence on how individuals perceive their interpersonal relations. Bootstrapped Indirect Effects The Bootstrap method was used to perform 5000 repetitions, setting a 95% confidence interval to examine whether alexithymia serve as a mediator between stressful life events and dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection. The mediation effect was considered as significant when the 95% confidence interval did not include zero. Table 3 represents the bootstrapped mediation analysis below. Table 3 Bootstrapped Mediation Analysis of Alexithymia in the Relationship between Stressful Life Events and Dimensions of Intimate Partner Rejection (N = 284). Outcome Variable Effect Path Effect Size Boot SE 95% CI Warmth–Affection Total Effect (X → Y) –0.5241 — — Direct Effect (X → Y) –0.5241 0.1080 [–0.7367, − 0.3114] Indirect Effect (X → M → Y) –0.2621 0.0585 [–0.3791, − 0.1475] Indifferent-neglect Total Effect (X → Y) 0.2732 — — Direct Effect (X → Y) 0.1770 0.0871 [0.0055, 0.3485] Indirect Effect (X → M → Y) 0.0962 0.0286 [0.0441, 0.1569] Hostility-aggression Total Effect (X → Y) 0.4253 — — Direct Effect (X → Y) 0.3310 0.0906 [0.1527, 0.5093] Indirect Effect (X → M → Y) 0.0943 0.0267 [0.0440, 0.1490] Undifferentiated Rejection Total Effect (X → Y) 0.3011 — — Direct Effect (X → Y) 0.2134 0.0500 [0.1150, 0.3117] Indirect Effect (X → M → Y) 0.0877 0.0223 [0.0458, 0.1325] Note. X = Stressful Life Events; M = Alexithymia; Y = dimensions of Intimate Partner Acceptance–Rejection. Effect paths are derived from bootstrapped mediation models using 5,000 resamples. Total Effect represents the overall association between X and Y. Direct Effect represents the effect of X on Y while controlling for the mediator (M). Indirect Effect represents the mediating effect of alexithymia (X → M → Y). Boot SE = Bootstrapped Standard Error; 95% CI = 95% Bias-Corrected Confidence Interval. An indirect effect is considered significant if the 95% confidence interval does not include zero. For warmth-affection, the total effect of SLE on reduced partner warmth-affection was significant (effect = .52, p < .05) and the direct effect also remained (95% CI [–0.7367, − 0.3114], p < .05). the indirect effect of SLE on warmth-affection through alexithymia was significant (95% CI [–0.3791, − 0.1475], p < .05) with the mediation effect (effect = − 0.2621) indicating partial mediation. Similarly, for indifferent-neglect, the total effect was significant (effect = .27, p < .05) and the indirect effect was also significant (95% CI [0.0055, 0.3485], p < .05). while the indirect effect of SLE on indifferent-neglect through alexithymia was significant (95% CI [0.0441, 0.1569], p < .05) with the effect size ( effect = 0.0962), suggesting partial mediation. Regarding hostility-aggression, the total effect of stressful life events was significant (effect = .42, p < .05) the direct effect remained significant (95% CI [0.1527, 0.5093], p < .05). moreover, the mediation effect of alexithymia in relationship between SLE and hostility-aggression was significant (95% CI [0.0440, 0.1490], p < .05), with the mediation effect value (effect = 0.0943), indicating partial mediation. Lastly, for undifferentiated-rejection, the total effect was significant (effect = .30, p < .05), while the direct effect was also significant (95% CI [0.1150, 0.3117], p < .05). Moreover the significant indirect effect (95% CI [0.0458, 0.1325], p < .05), with the mediation effect size (effect = 0.0877,) indicated partial mediation. Comprehensively, findings indicate that alexithymia mediates the relationship between stressful life events and intimate partner acceptance rejection, with partial mediation in Warmth-Affection, Hostility-aggression, Indifference-neglect, and Undifferentiated-rejection. Discussion The purpose of present study was to analyze the mediating role of alexithymia in relationship between stressful life events and intimate partner acceptance rejection among women in their perinatal period. The present study investigated the influence of stressful life events on intimate partner acceptance and rejection across four dimensions; warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated-rejection while also analyzing the mediating role of alexithymia. In line with the hypotheses, the results indicated that stressful life events were a significant predictor of decreased perceived warmth-affection and increased perceived rejection across all dimensions. Findings are in consistent with the previous studies indicating stress interferes with emotional proximity and emotional accessibility within intimate relationships (Estlein & Lavee, 2021; Braughton et al., 2021; Campbell & Renshaw, 2018). Stress seems to lower the ability of the people to have nurturing interactions and also increases insensitivity to the affectionate behaviors of partner hence creating emotional distance. Stressors can be especially disruptive during the perinatal period when physiological and emotional and relational needs become especially acute (Smallen et al., 2021; Rini et al., 2023). Furthermore, perceptions of partner rejection (hostility and neglect) were positively correlated with stress. These findings are consistent with stress spillover theory, which posits that external stressful factors are frequently carried into relationship processes, which determine how individuals decode their partner actions (Neff and Karney, 2004). The pregnant women who report experiencing increased stress can thereby be more inclined to interpret the actions of partners as cold, aggressive, or rejecting. This observation is consistent with empirical findings that chronically stressed persons are also more likely to perceive their partners as emotionally withdrawn (Kieslich and Steins, 2022; Bodenmann et al., 2010). Our result thus supports the idea that stressful life experiences lead to relational sensitivity, which makes a person more prone to perceiving rejection in intimate relationships (Randall and Bodenmann, 2017). The most notable contribution of the current research is the mediating effect of alexithymia, which was substantial in all four dimensions of acceptance-rejection. Alexithymia was more frequently reported by women who had more stressful life events, which in turn had an effect on lower perceptions of warmth in partners and higher perceptions of rejection. The finding is in line with previous data indicating that alexithymia is connected to disrupted emotional processing and interpersonal challenges (Foran and O’Leary, 2012; Hoseinzadeh et al., 2018). Since alexithymic people have difficulties identifying, labeling and managing emotions (Bagby et al., 1994), they might be less capable of expressing their needs or accurately perceiving the emotional cues of their partner, particularly when it comes to stressful situations. Surprisingly, the effect of alexithymia played the most important indirect role in the connection between stress and perceived warmth-affection. This implicates that the emotional control problems especially intervene with the expression of intimacy and its perception that is core to the relational contentment during the perinatal phase (Wells et al., 2016 ). The mediation impacts of hostility-aggression and undifferentiated rejection were smaller yet significant, which means that alexithymia predisposes to the experience of negative behavior in partners (Zdankiewicz-Ścigała et al., 2024). Collectively, these results indicate that alexithymia is an essential process by which stress compromises the relational well-being. Overall, the current results support the above theoretical evidences that alexithymia serves as an important intrapersonal process in the context of which stressful life events affect relational perceptions and dynamics The study underlines the relevance of understanding and managing emotions as protective or risk-factor against life stress, by establishing that alexithymia mediates the link between stress and across four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Implications of the study The results have a number of theoretical, clinical, and practical implications. clinically, the findings demonstrate the adverse effects of stressful life experiences on the perceived acceptance of the partner, especially during the period associated with increased emotional and relational vulnerability. This highlights the importance of perinatal health professionals taking a relational perspective when evaluating exposure to stressor, as environmental stressors could potentially influence not only the mental wellbeing of an individual, but also the perceived warmth of the partner, resulting in higher perceptions of neglect, hostility and rejection. In practical, screening for emotional processing difficulties during pregnancy can help identify women at risk of relational problems. Perinatal care could be strengthened by couple-based emotional training and coping interventions, which can be included in the perinatal care. Theoretically, the mediating role of alexithymia strengthens the emotional regulation models and extends the stress spill over framework. The findings indicate that internal psychological mechanism of impaired emotional awareness is central in turning external pressure into relationship problems. This underlies emotion regulation models which make alexithymia a central vulnerability factor between stress and relational dysfunction. Lastly, from policy perspective, the findings reflect the necessity of integrative care frameworks that bridge obstetric, psychological, and relationship health. Moreover, addressing emotional process and interpersonal stress responses could enhance both maternal mental health and relationship satisfactions. Limitations and future directions Despite the contributions, there are several limitations needs to acknowledged. First the cross-sectional nature of the study limits to establish the casualty between study variables including stressful life events, alexithymia and intimate partner acceptance rejection. Therefore the future studies should opt longitudinal design to validate proposed pathways over time. Second, although the research examined the perinatal period, the distribution of the sample across prenatal period and postpartum was uneven with relatively small post-partum women. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader spectrum. Considering the emotional and relational dynamics may change over time, future studies ought to have a more balanced sample between prenatal and postpartum stages. Third all construct were assessed using self-report measure which may introduce social desirability and self-biased perceptions. Future research could be made more valid by including reports by partners or methods of observation. Finally, the study used focused on overall alexithymia score, without accounting the separate role of its sub-dimensions, which may influence the relational perception in different ways. Future studies can also integrate possible moderating factors like relationship satisfaction, personality traits or the concept of social support to provide more nuanced understanding. Conclusion The research contributes to our understanding of the influence of stressful life events on perceptions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection during the perinatal period and the mediating role of alexithymia in relations between them. The findings highlight that stress not only reduces the perception of warmth-affection but also elevate the feelings of hostility, neglect and rejection withing relationship dynamics. Significantly, the mediating role of alexithymia emphasize the importance emotional processing abilities in maintaining healthy relationship under stressful condition. By recognizing the emotional awareness as identifiable factor, the research presents future directions to the possibility of interventions based on targeting emotional attunement and relational resilience during vulnerable life phase. Declarations Funding The study did not receive any specific grant from the funding agencies in the government, commercial, or not-for-profit sector. Ethical Approval This study was approved by the relevant Institutional Ethics Review Board. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Informed Consent Written informed consent was obtained from every individual participant, in accordance with the institutional guidelines. Declaration of interest No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Acknowledgement The authors would like to express gratitude to all the participants for their valuable time and sincere participation in the research. A grateful appreciation is also extended towards Dr. Farzana Ashraf whose feedback and support have been of significant value in the research process. Data availability statement The data that support the findings of the study are available from corresponding author upon reasonable request. References ‌ Antoniou E, Stamoulou P, Tzanoulinou M-D, Orovou E (2021) Perinatal mental health; The role and the effect of the partner: A systematic review. Healthcare 9(11):1572. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9111572 ‌ Bodenmann G, Meuwly N, Bradbury TN, Gmelch S, Ledermann T (2010) Stress, anger, and verbal aggression in intimate relationships: Moderating effects of individual and dyadic coping. J Social Personal Relationships 27(3):408–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407510361616 ‌ Braughton J, Mendenhall T, Kazlauskaite V (2021) Identification of resiliency processes in dual-trauma couples: An exploration of self-reported relational strengths and weaknesses. 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Cross-Cultural Res 42(1):5–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397107309749 ‌ Ronald Preston Rohner (2021) Introduction to Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory Introduction to Interpersonal… Online Readings in Psychology and Culture , 6 (1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354473276_Introduction_to_Interpersonal_Acceptance Rejection_Theory_Introduction_to_Interpersonal_Acceptance-Rejection_Theory_IPARTheory_and_Evidence_IPARTheory_and_Evidence ‌ Schwarze CE, Lerche V, Wallwiener S, Pauen S (2024) Partnership quality and maternal depressive symptoms in the transition to parenthood: a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06757-9 ‌ Smallen D, Eller J, Rholes WS, Simpson JA (2021) Perceptions of partner responsiveness across the transition to parenthood. J Fam Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000907 ‌ Taylor K, Compton S, Kolenic GE, Scott J, Becker N, Dalton VK, Moniz MH (2021) Financial Hardship Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in the United States, 2013 to 2018. JAMA Netw Open 4(10):e2132103. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.32103 ‌ Veggi S, Benfante A, Marialaura Di Tella, Roveta F, Castelli L, Zara G (2023) Intimate partner violence and alexithymia: Do emotions matter? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231217045 ‌ Zdankiewicz-Ścigała E, Ścigała DK, Trzebiński J (2024) Alexithymia in the narratization of romantic relationships: The mediating role of fear of intimacy. J Clin Med 13(2):404. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13020404 ‌Alkan Härtwig E, Aust S, Heekeren HR, Heuser I (2020) No words for feelings? not only for my own: Diminished emotional empathic ability in alexithymia. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience , 14 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00112 ‌Bagby RM, Parker JDA, Taylor GJ (1994) The twenty-item oronto alexithymia scale—i. item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res 38(1):23–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1 Bjelica A, Cetkovic N, Trninic-Pjevic A, Mladenovic-Segedi L (2018) The phenomenon of pregnancy — a psychological view. Ginekologia polska 89(2):102–106. https://doi.org/10.5603/gp.a2018.0017 Bowlby J (1982) Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment, 2nd edn. Basic Books Goodman C, Turner Y, Green (1998) Stressful life events screening questionnaire (SLESQ) - PTSD: National Center for PTSD . Www.ptsd.va.gov . https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/te-measures/stress-life-events.asp ‌Hayes AF (2004) Partial, conditional, and moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monogr 71(1):1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0363775142000379846 ‌Khaleque A, Rohner RP (2011) Pancultural Associations Between Perceived Parental Acceptance and Psychological Adjustment of Children and Adults. J Cross-Cult Psychol 43(5):784–800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022111406120 ‌Mangialavori S, Fontana A, Terrone G, Topino E, Trani L, Trincia V, Lisi G, Ducci G, Cacioppo M (2024) Maternal perinatal depression, alexithymia, and couple functioning: Which relationship exists with prenatal attachment. Behav Sci 14(9):773–773. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090773 Monavar G, Mouloud Agajani Delavar (2016) Alexithymia in pregnant women: Its relationship with depression. ASEAN J Psychiatry 17(1):1–7. https://www.aseanjournalofpsychiatry.org/abstract/alexithymia-in-pregnant-women-its-relationship-with-depression-53398.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com Morgan N, Christensen K, Skedros G, Kim S, Schliep K (2020) Life stressors, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and preterm birth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynecol 43(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/0167482x.2020.1778666 Riggs SA (2019) Childhood emotional abuse and the attachment system across the life cycle: What theory and research tell us. Routledge EBooks 5–51. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315874920-2 Rothenberg WA, Ali S, Rohner RP, Lansford JE, Britner PA, Di Giunta L, Dodge KA, Malone PS, Oburu P, Pastorelli C, Skinner AT, Sorbring E, Steinberg L, Tapanya S, Tirado LMU, Yotanyamaneewong S, Alampay LP, Al-Hassan SM, Bacchini D, Bornstein MH (2021) Effects of Parental Acceptance-Rejection on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Longitudinal, Multicultural Study. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 31 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02072-5 Tesfa D, Alemnew W, Tadege M, Digssie A, Abebe B, Abebaw S, Kefale B (2020) Level of happiness and its associated factors among pregnant women in south gondar zone hospitals, north central ethiopia. Int J Women’s Health 12:983–991. https://doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s275709 Wells R, Rehman US, Sutherland S (2016) Alexithymia and social support in romantic relationships. Pers Indiv Differ 90:371–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.11.029 Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7769923","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":524031621,"identity":"8ad608fd-482e-4444-b4c5-ba1cb64adb09","order_by":0,"name":"saira 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Alexithymia\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe perinatal period marks a significant and transformative period in a women\u0026rsquo;s life that involves not only physical and biological changes but also psychological, emotional and interpersonal transitions (Bjelica et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). While the anticipation of motherhood may introduce feelings of joy, fulfillment and meaning, t also triggers a variety of mixed emotions, such as stress, vulnerability, and an increased sense of inadequacy (Tesfa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Due to increase in maternal responsibilities, risk of psychological distress also intensify, especially in women faced with significant life stressors, emotional dysregulation and reduced relational support. Such aspects may severely affect maternal and fetal health, emphasizing the necessity of examining the psychological context of the perinatal period in a relational and affective perspective.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStressful life events, characterized by significant disruptions that interfere with daily routine functioning and require psychological adaptations (Holahan et al., 2017). These events such as sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, bereavement, financial hardship and interpersonal conflicts have long been recognized as significant predictors of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes (Haight et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2022; Taylor et al., 2021). Studies have continually indicated that such stressors are linked to higher rates of low birth weight, premature births, delayed development, and future cognitive and psychological vulnerabilities of children (Chauhan \u0026amp; Potdar, 2022). Additionally, these stressors increase the risk of maternal depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and abnormalities in maternal-infant attachment, which ultimately impairs effective care giving and long-term emotional resilience (Morgan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin this emotionally volatile context, intimate partner dynamics can serve as a critical buffer or have an exacerbating effect. For many women, A romantic partner is the key provider of emotional and practical support during pregnancy and postpartum. However, this relationship tends to be fragile to stress, particularly when stress is exacerbated by interpersonal communication issues, a lack of conflict resolution, or emotional distancing (Slomian et al., 2021). Major life events may destabilize a relationship, erode emotional availability and triggers feelings of abandonment or rejection (Riggs, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). This decline in relationship quality is particularly significant at the perinatal stage when female health is more susceptible to psychological and physiological signals of environmental safety and support. Several studies report that relationship dissatisfaction is alone a predictor of the increased exhibited depressive symptoms in expectant mothers whereas reviews have shown that poor emotional support, high conflict, and low communication additionally enhances psychological distress during this crucial stage (Antoniou et al., 2021; Schwarze et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe experience of rejection by a close partner, manifested as coldness, indifference, hostility or emotional distance has profound implications for maternal psychological functioning. The Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory) suggests that perceived rejection of the significant others (romantic partners, in particular) predicts broad range of psychological challenges such as low self-esteem, emotional instabilities, and mistrust towards the people around them (Rohner, 2016). Notably, IPARTheory conceptualizes intimate partner acceptance-rejection as a multidimensional concept with four major domains: warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression, and undifferentiated rejection (Rohner, 2021). These dimensions offer a rather advanced paradigm to reflect the diverse forms in which emotional attunement or its absence appears in romantic dyads.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarmth-affection comprises love, empathy, validation, and nurturance displays to confirm the emotional importance of a partner (Khaleque \u0026amp; Rohner, 2011). Comparatively, indifferent-neglect indicates emotional detachment and non-responsiveness, whereas hostility-aggression connotes either verbal or physical expressions of injury. Undifferentiated rejection refers to the ambiguous form of emotional distance, where a spouse does not have to show excessive neglect or defensiveness but is still interpreted as emotionally inaccessible (Rothenberg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). All these three dimensions of rejection have been linked to adverse psychological outcomes especially in emotionally demanding context like pregnancy (Perez et al., 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the significance of partner acceptance in shaping maternal mental health has been well-acknowledged, there is a dearth of studies investigating on how individual psychological profiles modulate perception and effects of partner behaviors. One particularly salient construct in this regard is Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and a cognitive style that is oriented toward external stimuli rather than internal emotional states (Nemiah et al., 1976). People with high alexithymia tend to have poor emotion management, low empathy, and compromised interpersonal communication (Alkan H\u0026auml;rtwig et al., 2020). These traits complicate the experience of emotional intimacy, especially during high-stakes situations such as the perinatal transition (Mangialavori et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring pregnancy, alexithymia can be particularly problematic because both partners are faced with larger emotional demands. Pregnant women with alexithymic tendencies may have a problem in expressing their emotional needs, reading the emotional cues of their partners, or empathizing with their relationship problems, leadings to misunderstanding, emotional distance and avoidance behaviors (Karukivi et al., 2014) Such challenges have been linked to elevated stress and depressive symptoms in pregnancy and postpartum (Monavar Gilanifar \u0026amp; Delavar, 2021; Marchand et al., 2017). Such process may be further exacerbated under stress,, where emotional responsiveness is especially needed but difficult to access. Research has consistently revealed, alexithymia in close relationship is linked with lack of empathy, insufficient emotional validation and decreased emotional intimacy, all of which are important to relationship quality (Fatemeh Zakeri \u0026amp; Rezaei, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe current research is rooted in various complementary theoretical frameworks that describe how stressful life events can affect intimate partner acceptance-rejection in the perinatal period. Stress spillover theory (Neff and Karney, 2004), offers a contextual explanation which proposes that stress that is generated beyond a relationship tends to be transferred to the couple interactions defining how people perceive the actions of their partners. Affect regulation model (Gross, 1998) assumes that interpersonal problems can be aggravated by challenges in identifying and regulating emotions, especially when stress impairs the capacity to maintain emotional awareness. At the relational level, Intimate Partner Acceptance-rejection (IPAR) theory (Rohner, 2004) states that feelings of warmth, neglect, hostility and undifferentiated rejection have a significant impact on psychological adaptation and relationship satisfaction. These views combine to offer a consistent approach of exploring the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between stressful life events and perceptions of intimate partner acceptance-rejection among women in the perinatal period.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe present study aims to analyze the mediating role of alexithymia in relationship between stressful life events and across four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection among women in perinatal period. Based on IPAR Theory and contemporary findings on emotion regulation, this study focuses on how stressful experiences can manifest into perceptions of acceptance and rejection during perinatal period through disruption in emotional awareness and expressions. Based on the prior literature the study hypothesized:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH1.\u003c/b\u003e Greater exposure to stressful life events will be associated with:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ea) lower perceptions of partner warmth\u0026ndash;affection, and\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eb) higher perceptions of partner indifferent\u0026ndash;neglect, hostility\u0026ndash;aggression, and undifferentiated rejection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH2.\u003c/b\u003e Greater exposure to stressful life events will be positively associated with higher levels of alexithymia.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH3.\u003c/b\u003e Alexithymia will be negatively associated with perceptions of partner warmth\u0026ndash;affection and positively associated with perceptions of partner indifferent\u0026ndash;neglect, hostility\u0026ndash;aggression, and undifferentiated rejection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH4.\u003c/b\u003e Alexithymia will significantly mediate the relationship between stressful life events and each of the four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance\u0026ndash;rejection (warmth\u0026ndash;affection, indifferent\u0026ndash;neglect, hostility\u0026ndash;aggression, and undifferentiated rejection).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy identifying alexithymia as potential mediator, the study aimed to contribute to the preventive measure and relational interventions, supporting maternal health during the transitional phase of life.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Material and method","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResearch Design\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe current study employed correctional, cross-sectional research design with convenience random sampling technique to ensure the accessibility and diversity of sample.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eParticipants and Procedure\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sample of the current study consisted of 284 women aged between 19\u0026ndash;37 years (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;27.04, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.36) in perinatal period, recruited through purposive sampling from various public hospitals and private clinics across all over the Lahore Punjab. The women were allowed to participate if they were pregnant or six months postpartum, living with their spouse, and could understand Urdu. Women diagnosed with psychiatric disorders or major obstetric complications and cognitive impairments were excluded to maintain the internal validity of the study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe final sample represented a great variety of sociodemographic characteristics. The mean number of years of education was M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.23 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5.44), with qualification ranging from primary to graduate level. Majority of the participants were primary educated (47.2%), followed by middle education (25.4%), matriculation (11.3%), intermediate (12.0), and higher education (4.2%). In terms of pregnancy 88% were in their pre-partum and 12% were in post-partum period. The number of pregnancies ranged from 1 to 5 (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.08, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.06), with the largest group in their third (38.4%) and forth (32.7%). The number of children ranged from 1 to 4 (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.24, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.96), with 38.7% having two and 34.9% having three and 7.7% having 4 children. 7.7% of the participants reported a history of miscarriage. The family system was divided into two categories: nuclear family (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;103, 39.5%) and joint family (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;158, 60.5%). Monthly family income was between PKR 15,000 and 70,000 with 64.8% earning PKR 25,000 or less and 35.2% earning more than this.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrior to data collection, an ethical approval was obtained from relevant institutional review board and administrative permission was granted by the participating hospitals and centers. Informed consent was obtained and participants were briefed about the purpose, anonymity and confidentiality of the study. Data were collected using paper pencil and questionnaires. A Demographic Information sheet, the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire (IPARQ) were completed by each of the respondents. Sessions lasted 25\u0026ndash;30 minutes and were conducted in private space to ensure comfort and privacy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMeassures\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1- The Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLESQ is a thirteen-item self-administered inventory developed by Goodman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e that measures the lifetime trauma exposure for people who do not seek treatment (e.g., sexual abuse, physical assault, natural disasters, life-threatening illness). The respondent is requested to identify a dichotomous event (yes\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1, no\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2) along with other specific etiological dimensions related to the event, such as duration and frequency of the event, any death, or hospitalization.. Amongst the items are \u0026ldquo;Was physical force or a weapon ever used against u in a robbery or a mugging.\u0026rdquo; Higher score on the SLESQ shows more reported Stressful Life Events which has both actual and observed range from 0\u0026ndash;9. In the present study the SLESQ demonstrated Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha of .69, slightly lower than standard.70 threshold. Even though slightly lower than the standard .70 threshold, this level of internal consistency is acceptable because of the scale\u0026rsquo;s multidimensional structure and its coverage of diverse stressful experiences.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2- Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS), developed by Bagby et al. (1994), a 20-item self-administrated measurement, comprised of three subscales: Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF), externally oriented thinking (EOT). It quantifies the impaired ability to identify and describe emotions and externally oriented thinking. Every statement on the scale is answered on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 means \u003cem\u003estrongly disagree\u003c/em\u003e and 5 means \u003cem\u003estrongly agree\u003c/em\u003e. The overall scale ranges from 20 to 100 points. Alexithymia is treated as a dimension, the higher the score on the scale, the higher its level. The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha reliability for the current study is .89.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3- Intimate Partner-Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire (IPARQ)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe IPARQ (intimate Adult Relationship Questionnaire), developed by Rohner (2008), is a 38-item questionnaire that measures one's perceived acceptance-rejection and behavioral control with the intimate partner. This scale comprised four subscales: Warmth/Affection (12), Indifferent/Neglect (10), Hostility/Aggression (9) and Undifferentiated/Rejection (5). Every statement is answered on 4-point Likert-type scale from 1: \u003cem\u003erarely true to\u003c/em\u003e 4: \u003cem\u003ealmost always true\u003c/em\u003e. The items sample was \u0026ldquo;I am emotionally attached to my husband.\u0026rdquo;, My husband does not give me attention.\u0026rdquo; The Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha across the four dimensions were as follow, warmth affection (.83), indifferent neglect (.79), hostility aggression (.71) and undifferentiated rejection (.61) respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAnalysis Strategy\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData were analyzed using IBM statistics version 26.0. prior to conducting analysis, Herman single factor test was performed to assess the presence of common method bias, given the self-report and cross-sectional nature of the data. Descripted statistics were computed by summarizing demographic characteristics. Pearson correlation analysis was computed to examine the relationship between stressful life events, alexithymia and dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Prior to the testing of the mediation model, a series of linear regression analyses were run to establish the extent to which stressful life events were significant in predicting each dimension of partner acceptance-rejection. This step defined the direct effects require to justify mediation analysis. Four mediation analysis were conducted using Process MACRO by Hayes (2004), with stressful life events as independent variable, alexithymia as mediator, and each dimension of acceptance and rejection as separate dependent variable. Pre- and post-partum pregnancy status were included as co-variates. The significance of indirect effects was tested by bootstrapping with 5000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). When the CI does not contain zero then the mediation effect is said to be statistically significant. This strategy offers a stringent way to test the sequential mechanism by which stressful life events contributes to the relationship dynamics.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eTo assess common method bias, Herman\u0026rsquo;s single factor was conducted using principal component analysis. The findings indicated that the initial unrotated factor explained 19.3% of the total variation, a percentage below than the recommended 50%. This indicates that common method variance is not a significant concern in the research. While multicollinearity was assessed using VIF and tolerance values, and all variables had VIF values below 5, suggesting no multicollinearity issues. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients of the study variables.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Pearson Correlations of the Study Variables (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;284)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Stressful Life Events\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e16.40\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.59\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Warmth\u0026ndash;Affection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.38**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.66\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.36\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Indifferent\u0026ndash;Neglect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.18**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.29**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.66\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.76\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Hostility\u0026ndash;Aggression\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.27**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.34**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.71**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.75\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.98\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Undifferentiated Rejection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.33**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.51**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.40**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.37**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.70\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6. Alexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.30**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.49**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.25**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.26**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.39**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e51.25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.27\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote\u003c/b\u003e. \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;sample size. \u003cb\u003eM\u003c/b\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Mean; \u003cb\u003eSD\u003c/b\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standard Deviation. \u003cb\u003e*\u003c/b\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05. \u003cb\u003e**\u003c/b\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e represents descriptive statistics and Pearson\u0026rsquo;s correlation for study variables. The results exhibited significant correlation between study variables. stressful life events were significantly negatively correlated with warmth-affection (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.38, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01) and were significantly positively associated with three dimensions of rejection involving indifferent-neglect (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.18, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), hostility-aggression (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.27, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), and undifferentiated rejection (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.33, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01). Alexithymia was significantly positively correlated with stressful life events (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.30, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), and three dimensions of the perceived rejection, indifferent-neglect (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.25, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), hostility-aggression (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.26, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), and undifferentiated rejection (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.39, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01), however showing very strong negative correlation with warmth-affection (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.49, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01). These trends confirm the theoretical hypothesis that stressful life experiences and emotional dysregulation (alexithymia) associate with decreased relational warmth and augmented feelings of partner rejection in different forms during the perinatal period.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTesting Mediation Effect\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMultiple linear regression analysis were conducted using SPSS v 26.0 to analyze the predicting role of stressful life events and alexithymia on four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection: warmth-affection, Indifferent-neglect, Hostility-aggression and Undifferentiated-rejection (see Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e below).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMultiple Regression Analysis Predicting Intimate Partner Rejection Dimensions from Stressful Life Events and Alexithymia (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;284)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegression eq.\u0026nbsp;(\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;=\u0026nbsp;333)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFit indicator\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCoefficient and significance\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutcome Variable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredictor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eR\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eΒ\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eT\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarmth\u0026ndash;Affection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.380\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.144\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e47.55**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.380\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;6.90**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.496\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.246\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e91.92**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.496\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;9.59**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarmth\u0026ndash;Affection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Alexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.551\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.304\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e61.40**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;.253\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;4.85**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndifferent\u0026ndash;Neglect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.344\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.118\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e37.90**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.344\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.15**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.458\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.210\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e74.94**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.458\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.65**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndifferent\u0026ndash;Neglect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Alexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.506\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.256\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e48.20**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.200\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.60**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHostility\u0026ndash;Aggression\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.336\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.113\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e35.79**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.336\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.98**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.302\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.091\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e28.29**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.302\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.32**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHostility\u0026ndash;Aggression\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Alexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.456\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.208\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e36.87**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.238\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.27**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUndifferentiated Rejection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.336\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.113\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e35.79**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.336\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.98**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.302\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.091\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e28.29**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.302\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.32**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUndifferentiated Rejection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSLE\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Alexithymia\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.456\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.208\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e36.87**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e.238\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.27**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote.\u003c/b\u003e SLE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Stressful Life Events. R\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Multiple correlation coefficient; R\u0026sup2; = Coefficient of determination; F\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;F-ratio; β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Standardized regression coefficient; t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;t-value. Each model includes SLE alone or in combination with alexithymia as predictors of each dimension of intimate partner acceptance\u0026ndash;rejection. p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01 for all regression coefficients and F-values.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e depicts the mediation effect of Alexithymia across all dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection. For warmth-affection, stressful life events significantly predicted the outcome \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;.380, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001,with the model explaining 14.4% variance in warmth-affection (\u003cem\u003eR\u0026sup2;\u003c/em\u003e = .144, \u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e(1, 298)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;47.55). Stressful life events also significantly positively predicted alexithymia (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.496,, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.001). After adding alexithymia as a mediator, the explained variance increased to 30.4% (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.304) and SLE continued to be a significant negative predictor of warmth-affection (β = \u0026minus;.253, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e(297)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;4.85, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Indifferent-Neglect, SLE was marginally significant positive predictor (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.399, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e(298)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.32, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), accounting 15.9% in the indifferent-neglect (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.159, \u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e(1, 298)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;53.62). Moreover, stressful life events again significantly predicted alexithymia (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.496, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.001). When both stressful life events and alexithymia were included in the equation, the predictive effect of stressful life events remains significant (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.256, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026gt;. 001), and model explained 34.0%% of the variance in the indifferent-neglect (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.340).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimilarly, for Hostility-aggression, stressful life events was found to be significant predictor of outcome (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.366, \u003cem\u003et\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;6.59, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.001), explaining 13.4%% of the variance in Hostility-aggression(\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.134, \u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e(1, 298)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;43.43). In model 2, alexithymia was also significantly predicted by stressful life events (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.496, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.001). After including alexithymia, stressful life events remained a significant predictor (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.247, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;.001), together they explained 31.0% of the variance in the hostility-aggression (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.310).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLastly, for undifferentiated-rejection, stressful life events significantly positively predicted the undifferentiated rejection (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.408, \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.55, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001). The model explained 16.6%% of the variance in the undifferentiated-rejection (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.166, \u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e(1, 298)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;56.96). while in second equation, SLE again significantly positively predicted the alexithymia (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.210, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.001). including both predictors explained variance increased up to 31.0% (\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u0026sup2;\u003c/b\u003e = .310) and SLE remained significant predictor of the undifferentiated-rejection (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.247, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, findings revealed that stressful life events significantly predicted all four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Specifically, significantly negatively predicted warmth-affection and positively predicted indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated rejection. Moreover, SLE significantly predicted alexithymia across all dimensions. The addition of alexithymia improved model fit across all dimensions of intimate relationships, highlighting its significant influence on how individuals perceive their interpersonal relations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBootstrapped Indirect Effects\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bootstrap method was used to perform 5000 repetitions, setting a 95% confidence interval to examine whether alexithymia serve as a mediator between stressful life events and dimensions of intimate partner acceptance rejection. The mediation effect was considered as significant when the 95% confidence interval did not include zero. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e represents the bootstrapped mediation analysis below.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBootstrapped Mediation Analysis of Alexithymia in the Relationship between Stressful Life Events and Dimensions of Intimate Partner Rejection (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;284).\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutcome Variable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffect Path\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffect Size\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarmth\u0026ndash;Affection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.5241\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.5241\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1080\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026ndash;0.7367, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.3114]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; M \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.2621\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0585\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026ndash;0.3791, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.1475]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndifferent-neglect\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.2732\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1770\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0871\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.0055, 0.3485]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; M \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0962\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0286\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.0441, 0.1569]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHostility-aggression\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.4253\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.3310\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0906\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.1527, 0.5093]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; M \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0943\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0267\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.0440, 0.1490]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUndifferentiated Rejection\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.3011\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.2134\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0500\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.1150, 0.3117]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndirect Effect (X \u0026rarr; M \u0026rarr; Y)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0877\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.0223\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.0458, 0.1325]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote.\u003c/b\u003e X\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Stressful Life Events; M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Alexithymia; Y\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;dimensions of Intimate Partner Acceptance\u0026ndash;Rejection. Effect paths are derived from bootstrapped mediation models using 5,000 resamples. \u003cb\u003eTotal Effect\u003c/b\u003e represents the overall association between X and Y. \u003cb\u003eDirect Effect\u003c/b\u003e represents the effect of X on Y while controlling for the mediator (M). \u003cb\u003eIndirect Effect\u003c/b\u003e represents the mediating effect of alexithymia (X \u0026rarr; M \u0026rarr; Y).\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Bootstrapped Standard Error; 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;95% Bias-Corrected Confidence Interval. An indirect effect is considered significant if the 95% confidence interval does not include zero.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor warmth-affection, the total effect of SLE on reduced partner warmth-affection was significant (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.52, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05) and the direct effect also remained (95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.7367, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.3114], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05). the indirect effect of SLE on warmth-affection through alexithymia was significant (95% CI [\u0026ndash;0.3791, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.1475], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05) with the mediation effect (effect = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.2621) indicating partial mediation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimilarly, for indifferent-neglect, the total effect was significant (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.27, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05) and the indirect effect was also significant (95% CI [0.0055, 0.3485], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05). while the indirect effect of SLE on indifferent-neglect through alexithymia was significant (95% CI [0.0441, 0.1569], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05) with the effect size ( effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0962), suggesting partial mediation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegarding hostility-aggression, the total effect of stressful life events was significant (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.42, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05) the direct effect remained significant (95% CI [0.1527, 0.5093], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05). moreover, the mediation effect of alexithymia in relationship between SLE and hostility-aggression was significant (95% CI [0.0440, 0.1490], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05), with the mediation effect value (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0943), indicating partial mediation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLastly, for undifferentiated-rejection, the total effect was significant (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.30, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05), while the direct effect was also significant (95% CI [0.1150, 0.3117], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05). Moreover the significant indirect effect (95% CI [0.0458, 0.1325], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05), with the mediation effect size (effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.0877,) indicated partial mediation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eComprehensively, findings indicate that alexithymia mediates the relationship between stressful life events and intimate partner acceptance rejection, with partial mediation in Warmth-Affection, Hostility-aggression, Indifference-neglect, and Undifferentiated-rejection.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of present study was to analyze the mediating role of alexithymia in relationship between stressful life events and intimate partner acceptance rejection among women in their perinatal period. The present study investigated the influence of stressful life events on intimate partner acceptance and rejection across four dimensions; warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated-rejection while also analyzing the mediating role of alexithymia.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn line with the hypotheses, the results indicated that stressful life events were a significant predictor of decreased perceived warmth-affection and increased perceived rejection across all dimensions. Findings are in consistent with the previous studies indicating stress interferes with emotional proximity and emotional accessibility within intimate relationships (Estlein \u0026amp; Lavee, 2021; Braughton et al., 2021; Campbell \u0026amp; Renshaw, 2018). Stress seems to lower the ability of the people to have nurturing interactions and also increases insensitivity to the affectionate behaviors of partner hence creating emotional distance. Stressors can be especially disruptive during the perinatal period when physiological and emotional and relational needs become especially acute (Smallen et al., 2021; Rini et al., 2023).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, perceptions of partner rejection (hostility and neglect) were positively correlated with stress. These findings are consistent with stress spillover theory, which posits that external stressful factors are frequently carried into relationship processes, which determine how individuals decode their partner actions (Neff and Karney, 2004). The pregnant women who report experiencing increased stress can thereby be more inclined to interpret the actions of partners as cold, aggressive, or rejecting. This observation is consistent with empirical findings that chronically stressed persons are also more likely to perceive their partners as emotionally withdrawn (Kieslich and Steins, 2022; Bodenmann et al., 2010). Our result thus supports the idea that stressful life experiences lead to relational sensitivity, which makes a person more prone to perceiving rejection in intimate relationships (Randall and Bodenmann, 2017).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe most notable contribution of the current research is the mediating effect of alexithymia, which was substantial in all four dimensions of acceptance-rejection. Alexithymia was more frequently reported by women who had more stressful life events, which in turn had an effect on lower perceptions of warmth in partners and higher perceptions of rejection. The finding is in line with previous data indicating that alexithymia is connected to disrupted emotional processing and interpersonal challenges (Foran and O\u0026rsquo;Leary, 2012; Hoseinzadeh et al., 2018). Since alexithymic people have difficulties identifying, labeling and managing emotions (Bagby et al., 1994), they might be less capable of expressing their needs or accurately perceiving the emotional cues of their partner, particularly when it comes to stressful situations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSurprisingly, the effect of alexithymia played the most important indirect role in the connection between stress and perceived warmth-affection. This implicates that the emotional control problems especially intervene with the expression of intimacy and its perception that is core to the relational contentment during the perinatal phase (Wells et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). The mediation impacts of hostility-aggression and undifferentiated rejection were smaller yet significant, which means that alexithymia predisposes to the experience of negative behavior in partners (Zdankiewicz-Ścigała et al., 2024). Collectively, these results indicate that alexithymia is an essential process by which stress compromises the relational well-being.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, the current results support the above theoretical evidences that alexithymia serves as an important intrapersonal process in the context of which stressful life events affect relational perceptions and dynamics The study underlines the relevance of understanding and managing emotions as protective or risk-factor against life stress, by establishing that alexithymia mediates the link between stress and across four dimensions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eImplications of the study\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results have a number of theoretical, clinical, and practical implications. clinically, the findings demonstrate the adverse effects of stressful life experiences on the perceived acceptance of the partner, especially during the period associated with increased emotional and relational vulnerability. This highlights the importance of perinatal health professionals taking a relational perspective when evaluating exposure to stressor, as environmental stressors could potentially influence not only the mental wellbeing of an individual, but also the perceived warmth of the partner, resulting in higher perceptions of neglect, hostility and rejection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn practical, screening for emotional processing difficulties during pregnancy can help identify women at risk of relational problems. Perinatal care could be strengthened by couple-based emotional training and coping interventions, which can be included in the perinatal care.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheoretically, the mediating role of alexithymia strengthens the emotional regulation models and extends the stress spill over framework. The findings indicate that internal psychological mechanism of impaired emotional awareness is central in turning external pressure into relationship problems. This underlies emotion regulation models which make alexithymia a central vulnerability factor between stress and relational dysfunction. Lastly, from policy perspective, the findings reflect the necessity of integrative care frameworks that bridge obstetric, psychological, and relationship health. Moreover, addressing emotional process and interpersonal stress responses could enhance both maternal mental health and relationship satisfactions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eLimitations and future directions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the contributions, there are several limitations needs to acknowledged. First the cross-sectional nature of the study limits to establish the casualty between study variables including stressful life events, alexithymia and intimate partner acceptance rejection. Therefore the future studies should opt longitudinal design to validate proposed pathways over time. Second, although the research examined the perinatal period, the distribution of the sample across prenatal period and postpartum was uneven with relatively small post-partum women. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader spectrum. Considering the emotional and relational dynamics may change over time, future studies ought to have a more balanced sample between prenatal and postpartum stages. Third all construct were assessed using self-report measure which may introduce social desirability and self-biased perceptions. Future research could be made more valid by including reports by partners or methods of observation. Finally, the study used focused on overall alexithymia score, without accounting the separate role of its sub-dimensions, which may influence the relational perception in different ways. Future studies can also integrate possible moderating factors like relationship satisfaction, personality traits or the concept of social support to provide more nuanced understanding.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe research contributes to our understanding of the influence of stressful life events on perceptions of intimate partner acceptance and rejection during the perinatal period and the mediating role of alexithymia in relations between them. The findings highlight that stress not only reduces the perception of warmth-affection but also elevate the feelings of hostility, neglect and rejection withing relationship dynamics. Significantly, the mediating role of alexithymia emphasize the importance emotional processing abilities in maintaining healthy relationship under stressful condition. By recognizing the emotional awareness as identifiable factor, the research presents future directions to the possibility of interventions based on targeting emotional attunement and relational resilience during vulnerable life phase.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study did not receive any specific grant from the funding agencies in the government, commercial, or not-for-profit sector.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical Approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis study was approved by the relevant Institutional Ethics Review Board. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed Consent\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten informed consent was obtained from every individual participant, in accordance with the institutional guidelines.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDeclaration of interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgement\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to express gratitude to all the participants for their valuable time and sincere participation in the research. A grateful appreciation is also extended towards Dr. Farzana Ashraf whose feedback and support have been of significant value in the research process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of the study are available from corresponding author upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026zwnj; Antoniou E, Stamoulou P, Tzanoulinou M-D, Orovou E (2021) Perinatal mental health; The role and the effect of the partner: A systematic review. 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Int J Women\u0026rsquo;s Health 12:983\u0026ndash;991. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.2147/ijwh.s275709\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.2147/ijwh.s275709\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWells R, Rehman US, Sutherland S (2016) Alexithymia and social support in romantic relationships. Pers Indiv Differ 90:371\u0026ndash;376. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.11.029\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.paid.2015.11.029\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"COMSATS University Islamabad","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Stressful Life Events, Alexithymia, Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection, perinatal period, maternal well-being","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7769923/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7769923/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eStressful life events during perinatal period can significantly influence intimate partner relationship dynamics, leading to the negative relational perceptions. The current study explored the relationship between SLEs and intimate partner acceptance rejection across four dimensions; warmth-affection, indifferent-neglect, hostility-aggression and undifferentiated-rejection, while analyzing the mediating role of alexithymia in these relationships.\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003eUsing cross-sectional design, purposive sampling technique was employed \u0026nbsp;to collect the sample of 284 participants. Participants completed self-report measures, assessing stressful life events, Alexithymia, and intimate partner acceptance and rejection. Regression and mediation analysis were conducted using SPSS and process MACRO by Hayes (2004). Findings revealed that SLEs significantly predicted reduced warmth-affection (β = –.380, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001) and positively predicted indifferent-neglect (β = .344, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; .001), hostility-aggression (β = .336, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001), and undifferentiated rejection (β = .336, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001). while alexithymia emerged as significant mediator in relationship between SLEs and intimate relationship dynamics. The findings highlight the significant influence of SLEs on relationship dynamics with alexithymia serving as potential psychological mechanism exacerbating the effect. The result emphasize the importance emotional regulations difficulties among perinatal women to reduce close relationship difficulties and promote healthier relationship and maternal well-being.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Stressful Life Events and Intimate Partner Acceptance Rejection in the Perinatal Period: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-06 04:48:46","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7769923/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0a997aeb-23bb-4b2d-972d-d479c4a3cc2c","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":55697206,"name":"Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-06T04:48:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-06 04:48:46","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7769923","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7769923","identity":"rs-7769923","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}