Children as victims of their parents' revenge

This research is based on the proven fact that many couples with children, when they divorce or break up their cohabitation, use them to harass and attack their ex-partner. This paper examines its relationship with dark personality traits and forgiveness. An identification system of traumatizing events committed by the partner and reactions to these events was developed. Information was collected from 1476 adult participants. Participants responded to several open-ended questions asking them to describe behaviors from their partner. A dark personality scale and Forgiveness and Resentment Scales were also administered. The partner's negative behavior most frequently mentioned by both men and women is the violation of the pact of coexistence, followed by psychological and physical ill-treatment. Women contemplated more frequently physical and sexual aggressions and sexist behavior. The tendency to forgive, psychopathy, and sex are predictors of ending the relationship rather than engaging in dialogue after the partner's traumatizing behavior.