A Study On The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse And The Psychosocial Prosperity Of College Student

Psychosocial flourishing is a type of well-being,which includes both psychological well-being and social well-being.Individuals with psychosocial flourishing have good psychosocial functioning,which will help college students who face many challenges to adapt to the environment.Although previous studies have shown that childhood maltreatment is closely related to individual’s low well-being,the researches have ignored the relationship between the types of childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing and have not studied the relationship from the individualcentered perspective.Also,there is a lack of research using interview methods to reveal the mechanisms underlying the relationship.In view of these,this study will combine variable-centered and individual-centered perspectives,and adopt quantitative research and qualitative research to reveal the mechanism between childhood maltreatment and college students’ psychosocial flourishing.Based on the Ecological Systems Theory and the Risk Family Model,this study designed three sub-studies to address the gaps in existing research.Study 1 adopts a variable-centered perspective and examines the mediating role of self-esteem and perceived social support in the relationship between types of childhood abuse and psychosocial flourishing of college students through a questionnaire survey of 2863 university students;Study 2 adopts an individual-centered perspective and classify childhood maltreatment exposure patterns with latent class analysis(LCA)to examines the mediating role of self-esteem and perceived social support in the relationship between latent class of childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing of undergraduates.Study 3 used a qualitative approach to further uncover the internal mechanisms between childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing by interviews with eight undergraduates.Study 1 found a significant mediating effect of self-esteem between psychological maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing of undergraduates,and a significant mediating effect of perceived social support between psychological neglect and psychosocial flourishing of undergraduates.The mediating effects of self-esteem and perceived social support were not significant between physical neglect,physical abuse,sexual abuse and psychosocial flourishing.Study 2 found that childhood maltreatment divides into three latent classes: low maltreatment,high neglect maltreatment,and multiple maltreatment.High neglect and multiple maltreatment had a greater negative impact on psychosocial flourishing than low maltreatment.Self-esteem and perceived social support act as mediators of the relationship between high neglect,multiple maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing relative to the low maltreatment.Study 3found that in addition to self-esteem and perceived social support,interpersonal relationships and coping styles may also play mediate roles between childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing among college students.The findings of this study suggest that the relationship between the type and the latent classes of childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing of college students are different.Childhood maltreatment may hinder the development of psychosocial flourishing among college students by reducing their self-esteem,diminishing individuals’ ability to appreciate social support,disrupting individuals’ interpersonal relationships and negative coping styles.This study provides a reference for pathways to interrupt the negative effects of childhood maltreatment on college students’ psychosocial flourishing,and suggests that mental health educators should pay attention to the differences in the mechanisms that link different types of maltreatment and latent classes of maltreatment to college students’ psychosocial flourishing,and make targeted intervention efforts for abused individuals.