Personality Severity, Codependency and Identifying Red Flags: Role of Childhood Emotional Abuse

Abstract

Background: Childhood emotional abuse is a traumatic event which has an everlasting impact on the individual and their adult functioning. Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuse is often subtle and under-recognised and makes the individual prone to psychological discomfort and difficulty maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships that has its impact persisting into adulthood. Objective: The present study examined the relationship between Childhood Emotional Abuse and Personality Severity, Codependency and difficulty identifying relationship red flags among young adults in the Indian Context. Gender differences and differences based on relationship status were also explored. Participants and Setting: Data were collected from 194 adults aged 18-23 through snowball sampling. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional exploratory design. Data was collected using self-reported measures and was analysed using correlational analyses and t-tests. Results: Verbal abuse emerged as the most commonly reported form of childhood emotional abuse, while emotional rejection, though comparatively lower, was still present. Childhood emotional abuse showed a significant relationship with personality severity and difficulty identifying red flags, indicating its influence on both intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning. Childhood emotional abuse was found to be not significantly related to codependency, a finding that may reflect trauma-related adaptations such as hyper-independence rather than relational dependence. Gender differences were observed in personality severity, whereas differences based on relationship status were not statistically significant, though distinct relational patterns were noted. Conclusions: The findings suggest that childhood emotional abuse is linked to increased personality-related difficulties and challenges in recognising unhealthy relationship patterns among young Indian adults. The pattern of associations suggests that early emotional maltreatment may contribute to both heightened personality severity and altered relational processing, including tendencies toward emotional self-protection rather than overt dependency. Within the Indian socio-cultural context, where emotional invalidation, verbal criticism and hierarchical family structures are often normalised, such experiences may have enduring effects on how individuals understand themselves and engage in relationships. The study highlights the need for trauma-informed, culturally sensitive mental health interventions that address emotional abuse, personality-related difficulties and relational functioning among young adults in India.