The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model
BackgroundChildhood emotional abuse is strongly linked to an increased risk of depression. However, the pathways linking the two remain elusive. Our study sought to examine how emotion dysregulation and perceived social support influence the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symp...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1538390/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850200349061677056 |
|---|---|
| author | Huiyuan Huang Haiqi Wu Lin Luo Bingqing Jiao Yilin Wu Guanyang Zou Jiabao Lin Wenqi Wang Lijun Ma |
| author_facet | Huiyuan Huang Haiqi Wu Lin Luo Bingqing Jiao Yilin Wu Guanyang Zou Jiabao Lin Wenqi Wang Lijun Ma |
| author_sort | Huiyuan Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundChildhood emotional abuse is strongly linked to an increased risk of depression. However, the pathways linking the two remain elusive. Our study sought to examine how emotion dysregulation and perceived social support influence the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.MethodsThis study involved 1728 Chinese college students aged 18-24. We utilized the Emotional Abuse (EA) subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) to assess the interrelationships among the study variables. A moderated mediation model was constructed to elucidate these relationships.ResultsOur results indicated a positive correlation between EA, DERS, and BDI. Conversely, PSSS was negatively correlated with EA, BDI, and DERS. Notably, EA is linked to a heightened vulnerability to BDI, with DERS mediating this association. PSSS moderated both the direct path of EA on BDI and the association between DERS and BDI. Furthermore, gender difference was observed in the role of PSSS. PSSS moderated the link between EA and BDI was significant only in the male group and no longer significant under the condition of high PSSS.ConclusionThis study sheds light on the mediating effect of emotion dysregulation and the moderating effect of perceived social support in the connection between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms. The adverse influence of childhood emotional abuse on subsequent depression may be mitigate through interventions focused on enhancing perceived social support and skills in regulating emotions in college students. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d6b6dbd35f4c40c1af3453b0d3903dc1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-d6b6dbd35f4c40c1af3453b0d3903dc12025-08-20T02:12:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-04-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.15383901538390The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation modelHuiyuan Huang0Haiqi Wu1Lin Luo2Bingqing Jiao3Yilin Wu4Guanyang Zou5Jiabao Lin6Wenqi Wang7Lijun Ma8School of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Public Health and Management, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, ChinaBackgroundChildhood emotional abuse is strongly linked to an increased risk of depression. However, the pathways linking the two remain elusive. Our study sought to examine how emotion dysregulation and perceived social support influence the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.MethodsThis study involved 1728 Chinese college students aged 18-24. We utilized the Emotional Abuse (EA) subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) to assess the interrelationships among the study variables. A moderated mediation model was constructed to elucidate these relationships.ResultsOur results indicated a positive correlation between EA, DERS, and BDI. Conversely, PSSS was negatively correlated with EA, BDI, and DERS. Notably, EA is linked to a heightened vulnerability to BDI, with DERS mediating this association. PSSS moderated both the direct path of EA on BDI and the association between DERS and BDI. Furthermore, gender difference was observed in the role of PSSS. PSSS moderated the link between EA and BDI was significant only in the male group and no longer significant under the condition of high PSSS.ConclusionThis study sheds light on the mediating effect of emotion dysregulation and the moderating effect of perceived social support in the connection between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms. The adverse influence of childhood emotional abuse on subsequent depression may be mitigate through interventions focused on enhancing perceived social support and skills in regulating emotions in college students.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1538390/fullchildhood emotional abuseperceived social supportemotion dysregulationdepressive symptomsmoderated mediation model |
| spellingShingle | Huiyuan Huang Haiqi Wu Lin Luo Bingqing Jiao Yilin Wu Guanyang Zou Jiabao Lin Wenqi Wang Lijun Ma The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model Frontiers in Psychiatry childhood emotional abuse perceived social support emotion dysregulation depressive symptoms moderated mediation model |
| title | The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model |
| title_full | The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model |
| title_fullStr | The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model |
| title_full_unstemmed | The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model |
| title_short | The influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students: a moderated mediation model |
| title_sort | influence of emotion dysregulation and perceived social support on the link between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in college students a moderated mediation model |
| topic | childhood emotional abuse perceived social support emotion dysregulation depressive symptoms moderated mediation model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1538390/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT huiyuanhuang theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT haiqiwu theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT linluo theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT bingqingjiao theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT yilinwu theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT guanyangzou theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT jiabaolin theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT wenqiwang theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT lijunma theinfluenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT huiyuanhuang influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT haiqiwu influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT linluo influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT bingqingjiao influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT yilinwu influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT guanyangzou influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT jiabaolin influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT wenqiwang influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel AT lijunma influenceofemotiondysregulationandperceivedsocialsupportonthelinkbetweenchildhoodemotionalabuseanddepressivesymptomsincollegestudentsamoderatedmediationmodel |