IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v177y2025ics0190740925003627.html

Childhood emotional neglect and psychological distress among Chinese college students: The mediating roles of basic psychological needs and coping styles

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Jiahua
  • Brandon, Rachel
  • Zhang, Anao
  • Yang, Yujie
  • Zhang, Hui

Abstract

Childhood emotional neglect is a significant risk factor for individuals’ health and well-being. However, the underlying mechanisms linking this subtype of adverse childhood experiences to college students’ psychological distress warrant further exploration. Drawing on self-determination theory, the current study examined the effect of childhood emotional neglect on psychological distress among Chinese college students, with a specific focus on the potential mediating roles of basic psychological needs and coping styles. The sample included 23,112 college students (Mage = 20.33 years, SD = 2.05; 46.69% male) from the 2022 wave of the Panel Study of Chinese University Students. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that childhood emotional neglect was positively related to college students’ psychological distress, and this relationship was mediated by basic psychological needs, positive coping styles, and negative coping styles. In addition, the serial mediating effect of basic psychological needs and positive coping styles was identified. These findings highlight a motivational pathway through which childhood emotional neglect influences college students’ psychological distress. Interventions targeting this population should focus on fulfilling basic psychological needs and enhancing positive coping styles to mitigate the adverse consequences of childhood emotional neglect.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Jiahua & Brandon, Rachel & Zhang, Anao & Yang, Yujie & Zhang, Hui, 2025. "Childhood emotional neglect and psychological distress among Chinese college students: The mediating roles of basic psychological needs and coping styles," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:177:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925003627
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108479
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740925003627
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108479?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daphne Bogaard & Bart Soenens & Katrijn Brenning & Nele Flamant & Maarten Vansteenkiste, 2024. "Can Students Learn to Optimize Their Need-Based Experiences and Mental Health During a Stressful Period? Testing a Need-Crafting Intervention in Higher Education," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1-31, June.
    2. Dassylva, Ophélie & Amédée, Laetitia Mélissande & Paradis, Alison & Hébert, Martine, 2025. "Coping patterns among sexually abused children: A latent profile analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Wang, Shanshan & Xu, Huiqiong & Zhang, Shichen & Wan, Yuhui & Tao, Fangbiao, 2020. "Mediating effects of self-esteem in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: The roles of sex and only-child status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    4. Rosana E Norman & Munkhtsetseg Byambaa & Rumna De & Alexander Butchart & James Scott & Theo Vos, 2012. "The Long-Term Health Consequences of Child Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-31, November.
    5. Yang, Banglin & Xiong, Cancan & Huang, Jin, 2021. "Parental emotional neglect and left-behind children’s externalizing problem behaviors: The mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of beliefs about adversity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    6. Hanlin Fu & Tiejian Feng & Jiabi Qin & Tingting Wang & Xiaobing Wu & Yumao Cai & Lina Lan & Tubao Yang, 2018. "Reported prevalence of childhood maltreatment among Chinese college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Yuanke & Zheng, Hong & Zhu, Shanshan & Wang, Ziqian & Jin, Qianqian & Li, Xu & Li, Bingbing, 2025. "Latent classes of childhood maltreatment among Chinese undergraduates: Associations with sociodemographic variables," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Zi-Yu Wang & Ming Hu & Tao-Lin Yu & Jun Yang, 2019. "The Relationship between Childhood Maltreatment and Risky Sexual Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Li, Bingbing & Pan, Yangu & Liu, Guangzeng & Chen, Wanfen & Lu, Jiamei & Li, Xu, 2020. "Perceived social support and self-esteem mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing in Chinese undergraduate students," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Sánchez-Sandoval, Yolanda & Aragón, Claudia & Verdugo, Laura, 2022. "Future expectations of adolescents in Residential Care: The role of self-perceptions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Anke Hoeffler, 2017. "Violence Against Children: A Critical Issue for Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(5), pages 945-963, November.
    6. Xuening Chang & Xueyan Jiang & Tamara Mkandarwire & Min Shen, 2019. "Associations between adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in adults aged 18–59 years," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-11, February.
    7. Chen, Xiaoxiao & Shao, Jingjin & Pu, Xin & Wang, Zhi, 2023. "Childhood maltreatment and adolescents’ peer victimization: The effect of security, school connectedness and gender," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    8. Carolien Christ & Marleen M de Waal & Jack J M Dekker & Iris van Kuijk & Digna J F van Schaik & Martijn J Kikkert & Anna E Goudriaan & Aartjan T F Beekman & Terri L Messman-Moore, 2019. "Linking childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms: The role of emotion dysregulation and interpersonal problems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Amy van Grieken & Esther M.B. Horrevorts & Cathelijne L. Mieloo & Rienke Bannink & Merian B.R. Bouwmeester-Landweer & Esther Hafkamp-de Groen & Suzanne Broeren & Hein Raat, 2019. "A Controlled Trial in Community Pediatrics to Empower Parents Who Are at Risk for Parenting Stress: The Supportive Parenting Intervention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.
    10. Burnson, Cynthia & Covington, Sarah & Arvizo, Bertha & Qiao, Jun & Harris, Elizabeth, 2021. "The impact of parents anonymous on child safety and permanency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    11. Hongyu Chen & Ruifeng Xu & Jianhao Wang & Feng Gao & Yida Lv & Xiang Li & Fang Li & Junqin Zhao & Xi Zhang & Jiabei Wang & Ruicheng Du & Yuke Shi & Hang Yu & Shuai Ding & Wenxin Li & Jing Xiong & Jie , 2025. "Maternal behavior promotes resilience to adolescent stress in mice through a microglia-neuron axis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-27, December.
    12. Sim, Susan & Kambouridis, Helen, 2025. "Relationship of demographic variables with mental health conditions in a childhood sexual abuse sample in a Victorian sexual assault service," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    13. Janaína C. N. Carvalho & Júlia C. Donat & Alice E. Brunnet & Thiago G. Silva & Gustavo R. Silva & Christian H. Kristensen, 2016. "Cognitive, Neurobiological and Psychopathological Alterations Associated with Child Maltreatment: A Review of Systematic Reviews," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(2), pages 389-406, June.
    14. Wolf, Jennifer Price & Freisthler, Bridget & McCarthy, Karla Shockley, 2021. "Parenting in poor health: Examining associations between parental health, prescription drug use, and child maltreatment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    15. Yuwen Lyu & Julian Chun-Chung Chow & Ji-Jen Hwang & Zhi Li & Cheng Ren & Jungui Xie, 2022. "Psychological Well-Being of Left-Behind Children in China: Text Mining of the Social Media Website Zhihu," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    16. Mumford, Elizabeth A. & Liu, Weiwei & Sheridan-Johnson, Jackie, 2025. "Childhood victimization and young adult firearm violence and self-harm ideation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    17. Rachel Langevin & Audrey Kern & Tonino Esposito & Sonia Hélie, 2023. "Homotypical and Heterotypical Intergenerational Continuity of Child Maltreatment: Evidence from a Cohort of Families Involved with Child Protection Services," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, February.
    18. Ran Wu & Hong Zhu & Meng-Yang Wu & Guang-Hai Wang & Chun-Lei Jiang, 2022. "Childhood Trauma and Suicide: The Mediating Effect of Stress and Sleep," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-11, July.
    19. Mariëlle E. Abrahamse & Vionna M. W. Tsang & Ramón J. L. Lindauer, 2021. "Home-Based Parent–Child Interaction Therapy to Prevent Child Maltreatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    20. Pellowski, Jennifer A. & Barnett, Whitney & Kuo, Caroline C. & Koen, Nastassja & Zar, Heather J. & Stein, Dan J., 2017. "Investigating tangible and mental resources as predictors of perceived household food insecurity during pregnancy among women in a South African birth cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 76-84.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:177:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925003627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.