The Relationship Between Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Healthy Diet in University Students: A Moderated Mediation Model.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the associations between childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) and healthy diet among university students, and tested the roles of depression and physical exercise using a conditional process framework.

METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 3,007 Chinese undergraduates (42.1% male; mean age = 19.03 ± 1.18 years). CEM, depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), physical exercise, and healthy diet were assessed via self-report. Demographic variables were controlled. PROCESS macro Model 14 in SPSS 29.0 was used with 5,000 bootstrap samples to test moderated mediation models.

RESULTS

Across three independently estimated models (overall CEM, childhood emotional abuse, and childhood emotional neglect), CEM and its subdimensions were positively associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.300-0.373, p < .001) and negatively associated with healthy diet (β =  -0.192 to -0.222, p < .001). Depression was negatively associated with healthy diet (β =  -0.148 to -0.162, p < .001) and statistically mediated the association between CEM and healthy diet. Physical exercise was positively associated with healthy diet (β = 0.174-0.175, p < .001) and showed a small but significant moderating association in the depression-healthy diet relationship in the overall CEM and emotional abuse models, but not in the emotional neglect model.

CONCLUSIONS

CEM was associated with poorer healthy diet partly through elevated depressive symptoms. Physical exercise demonstrated a limited buffering association. These findings underscore the relevance of integrating psychological support with physical activity and nutrition interventions to promote healthier eating among university students.