Objective: The present study was conducted to examine the effect of attachment styles and childhood trauma on the tendency toward divorce, with the mediating role of perfectionism and religious beliefs.
Method: This study was descriptive-correlational, employing a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The statistical population comprised 400 divorce applicants referring to counseling centers in Kermanshah County in 2024 (1403 SH), who were selected through cluster sampling. For data collection, the following instruments were used: the Attachment Styles Questionnaire (Collins & Read, 1990), the Perfectionism Questionnaire (Hill et al., 2004), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 2003), the Religious Beliefs Questionnaire (Bahrāmī, 1999), and the Divorce Tendency Questionnaire (Qāderzādeh et al., 2012). Data were collected through both in-person and online methods, and for their analysis, SPSS version 28 and SmartPLS3 software were employed; additionally, the goodness-of-fit (GOF) index was used to determine model fit.
Results: The findings of the structural model indicated that attachment styles and childhood trauma have a significant effect on the tendency toward divorce, both directly and through the mediation of perfectionism and religious beliefs (P < 0.05). The model fit indices, including a GOF value of 0.616, demonstrated that the research model possesses adequate fit.
Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of the role of early traumatic experiences and internalized relational patterns in explaining the tendency toward divorce and, by emphasizing the role of the mediating variables of perfectionism and religious beliefs, suggest the necessity of cognitive-emotional interventions based on the regulation of beliefs and the reconstruction of maladaptive schemas.