Psychological Science ›› 2018, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 64-70.

Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Mediating Role of Personality Traits between Childhood Psychological Maltreatment and Maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies

  

  • Received:2017-05-14 Revised:2017-12-05 Online:2018-01-20 Published:2018-01-20

心理虐待对儿童认知情绪调节策略的影响:人格特质的中介作用

刘文1,刘方2,陈亮3   

  1. 1. 辽宁师范大学
    2.
    3. 辽宁科技大学
  • 通讯作者: 陈亮

Abstract: Psychological maltreatment is defined as impeding the mental and moral faculties and it involves the continuous, repetitive and inappropriate parenting behaviors, but not involve physical and sex contact, which greatly damage the children's cognitive, emotional and social development. Cognitive emotion regulation refers to the activation of a goal to regulate either the magnitude or duration of the emotional response, this process requires the involvement of cognitive control. However, little research addresses the relationship between psychological maltreatment and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in China, especially whether personality can be a mediator variable between psychological maltreatment and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The present study, from the perspective of environment and personality, provides the basis for intervention for the health growth of children. We hypothesize that personality traits (neuroticism and extroversion) play a meditation role between psychological maltreatment and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The sample in this study consisted of 405 children, ranged in age from 8 to 12 years old. Instruments were the Scale of The kid version of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Chinese Child version of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Child Psychological Maltreatment Scale. Structural equation model was employed to test the mediation effect of personality. Results showed that (1) Psychological maltreatment had significant positive correlations with Self-blame (p<.01), Acceptance (p<.01) and Catastrophizing (p<.01) and Other-blame (p<.01); psychological maltreatment had significant negative correlations with Positive Reappraisal (p<.05), Positive Refocusing Planning (p<.05) and Rational Analysis (p<.05),but had non-significant correlations with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (2) neuroticism had a significant direct effect on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (β=.589), but extroversion had non-significant indirect effect on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. (3)Psychological maltreatment had a significant direct effect on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (β=.493), neuroticism (β=.521), extroversion (β=.-266), but psychological maltreatment had non-significant indirect effect on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies through neuroticism and extroversion (p>.05). These results indicated that neuroticism served as a full mediator effect between psychological maltreatment and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Additionally, we use multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the difference in gender and age of this model. Results also showed that the mediation model has gender and grade measurement equivalence (ΔCFI < 0.01、ΔRMSEA < 0.015). Psychological maltreatment is more subtle, so it is not easy to detect, but it can cause serious psychological and emotional harm to the individual, children who suffered from psychological maltreatment would exhibit difficulty in emotion regulation and neurotic children are more likely to use maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies when they are suffered psychological maltreatment. However, extraverted children are less vulnerable to psychological maltreatment maybe extroversion is a kind of stable trait, which is not susceptible to adverse environment. Additionally, as a kind of adverse environment, psychological maltreatment is more subtle, would cause significant harm to the children’s development and that this harm extends into adult life regardless of boys and girls. A practical implication of this study is that parents need to act as a "careful caregiver" in the daily life, actively provide a comfortable parenting style which enhance the child’s self-esteem and improve the quality of life. Future research may proceed from longitudinal studies and intervention studies. Key words:psychological maltreatment;personality traits;cognitive emotion regulation;children

Key words: psychological maltreatment, personality traits, cognitive emotion regulation, children

摘要: 采用儿童认知情绪调节问卷、儿童版艾森克人格问卷、儿童心理虐待量表对405名8~12岁儿童进行研究,考察人格特质在心理虐待对认知情绪调节策略关系中的中介作用。结果发现:(1)儿童心理虐待与不适应性认知情绪调节策略呈显著正相关;儿童神经质与不适应性认知情绪调节策略呈显著正相关儿童内外倾与适应性认知情绪调节策略呈显著正相关(2)儿童神经质在心理虐待与儿童不适应性认知情绪调节策略关系间起到完全中介作用(3)该中介模型具有性别和年龄的测量等值性。研究结果显示,儿童心理虐待可以通过神经质的中介作用影响不适应性认知情绪调节策略。

关键词: 心理虐待, 认知情绪调节策略, 人格特质, 儿童