The Mediating Effects of Forgiveness and Trust in the Association between Infidelity Trauma and Marital Adjustment
Keywords:
Infidelity trauma, marital adjustment, forgiveness, trust, structural equation modeling, marital relationships, betrayalAbstract
The present study aimed to examine the mediating roles of forgiveness and trust in the relationship between infidelity trauma and marital adjustment among married adults in the United States. This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 624 married adults in the United States who had experienced emotional and/or sexual infidelity by their spouse within the previous five years. Participants were recruited through online relationship-support communities, social media platforms, and community organizations. Data were collected using the Infidelity Trauma Scale, the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM-18), the Dyadic Trust Scale, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the direct and indirect relationships among study variables. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the measurement model, and model fit was assessed using χ²/df, CFI, TLI, GFI, RMSEA, and SRMR indices. Indirect effects were tested using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals. Structural equation modeling indicated that the proposed model demonstrated excellent fit to the data (χ²/df = 2.34, CFI = 0.951, TLI = 0.943, GFI = 0.924, RMSEA = 0.046, SRMR = 0.044). Infidelity trauma significantly predicted lower forgiveness (β = -0.61, p < .001), lower trust (β = -0.49, p < .001), and poorer marital adjustment (β = -0.24, p < .001). Forgiveness positively predicted trust (β = 0.39, p < .001) and marital adjustment (β = 0.27, p < .001), while trust emerged as the strongest predictor of marital adjustment (β = 0.56, p < .001). Bootstrap analyses revealed significant indirect effects through forgiveness (β = -0.16, 95% CI [-0.23, -0.10]), trust (β = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.36, -0.19]), and the sequential pathway of forgiveness and trust (β = -0.13, 95% CI [-0.18, -0.08]). The final model explained 68.4% of the variance in marital adjustment. The findings indicate that infidelity trauma undermines marital adjustment both directly and indirectly through diminished forgiveness and trust. Trust emerged as the most influential mechanism linking betrayal-related trauma to marital functioning, while forgiveness facilitated adjustment both independently and through its contribution to trust restoration. These results highlight the importance of targeting forgiveness and trust in therapeutic interventions designed to promote recovery and relationship resilience following marital infidelity.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rhian Kerton ; Jules Henrotte, Yvonne H. Chan (Author)
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