Childhood emotional maltreatment and adolescent restrictive eating: A longitudinal structural equation modeling and network analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Childhood emotional abuse and neglect are established risk factors for adolescent disordered eating, yet the mechanisms linking early emotional maltreatment to restrictive eating remain unclear. Using a dual-level framework integrating construct-level pathways with symptom-level interactions, this longitudinal study examined the psychological mechanisms linking childhood emotional maltreatment to restrictive eating and the moderating role of self-concept clarity.

METHODS

Adolescents were recruited at baseline (N = 1245) from a public secondary school in southwestern China, of whom 1181 (52.0% female; Mage = 15.0 years) completed all three waves over one academic year. Emotional abuse and neglect were assessed at baseline, relative deprivation and self-disgust at Wave 2, and restrictive eating at Wave 3. Structural equation modeling tested a multiple-mediation model (including a sequential indirect effect) and moderated mediation, controlling for gender and grade. Symptom network analysis at Wave 2 identified bridge symptoms linking relative deprivation and self-disgust.

RESULTS

Emotional maltreatment predicted higher relative deprivation and self-disgust, which in turn predicted greater restrictive eating. Indirect effects were observed via relative deprivation, via self-disgust, and sequentially through relative deprivation → self-disgust. Self-concept clarity buffered the associations between emotional maltreatment and relative deprivation and between relative deprivation and restrictive eating, with weaker effects at higher levels of self-concept clarity. Network analysis identified the cognition of being "at a disadvantage in life" as the strongest bridge symptom connecting relative deprivation and self-disgust.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate a cascading pathway from childhood emotional maltreatment to adolescent restrictive eating through relative deprivation and self-disgust, with self-concept clarity serving as a protective buffer. Targeting disadvantage-related cognitions and strengthening self-concept stability may inform prevention and intervention for trauma-related restrictive eating.