Childhood psychological abuse and neglect impair adolescent social-emotional competence: a network analysis with mediation.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that childhood psychological abuse and neglect can substantially hinder the development of adolescents' social-emotional competence. Furthermore, basic psychological needs mediate the relationship between them. However, no research has explored how childhood psychological abuse and neglect affect the development of adolescents' social-emotional competence by damaging basic psychological needs.

METHODS: Cross-sectional network analysis and a mediation model were applied to data from 987 Chinese high school students (mean age = 16.38). Validated scales assessed childhood psychological abuse and neglect, basic psychological needs, and social-emotional competence. We first use the SPSS PROCESS macro to construct the mediation model and then use a regularized partial correlation network and a complete partially directed acyclic graph to identify strong centrality and bridging dimensions/ items.

RESULTS: The results show that there is no robust association between childhood psychological abuse and neglect, as well as social-emotional competence. On the contrary, specific basic psychological needs (such as relatedness and competence) are the crux to maintaining the network of childhood psychological abuse and neglect - basic psychological needs - social and emotional competence.

CONCLUSION: This study proved that the disruption of basic psychological needs due to childhood psychological abuse and neglect serves as a pivotal mediating factor affecting the social-emotional competence of adolescents. Interventions targeting the recovery of basic psychological needs may mitigate the negative effects of childhood psychological abuse and neglect. The research also emphasizes the importance of addressing the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the development of adolescents' social-emotional competence.