Objectives <p>This study examines the role of self-differentiation as a potential protective factor that may buffer individuals from the detrimental impact of childhood trauma on the health of relationships.</p> Methods <p>This study tests the mediating process of submissive behavior in the relationship between exposure to childhood trauma and the experience of partner abuse, while determining whether self-differentiation moderates the indirect path. </p> Results <p>Data were collected from 239 (Male=82, Female=157) individuals in romantic relationships. The moderated mediation model was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 14). Study findings indicated that childhood trauma was associated with both submissive behavior (β = 0.25, p = .02) and experience of partner abuse (β = 0.04, p &lt; .001). However, submissiveness did not directly predict abuse (β = 0.01, p = .34). Self-differentiation was found to significantly moderate the relationship between submissive behavior and partner abuse (β = -0.02, p = .04), with submissiveness significantly predicting experience of partner abuse only among individuals with low levels of self-differentiation. These results indicated that self-differentiation can shape the association between submissive tendencies and partner abuse, however the moderated mediation model was not statistically significant. </p> Discussion <p>The results of this study underscore self-differentiation as the psychological resource potentially minimizing the risk of maladaptive relational outcomes in trauma-exposed individuals. Future research should examine whether enhancing self-differentiation could play a role in trauma-informed interventions, as current findings are exploratory and based on cross-sectional data.</p>