Childhood emotional neglect and adolescent depression: Roles of maladaptive self-cognition and friendship quality

Abstract

It has become the responsibility of the whole society to protect adolescents from depression. Based on an integration of attachment theory and stress-buffering model, the present study aimed to examine (a) whether childhood emotional neglect (CEN) would be significantly associated with depression; (b) whether maladaptive self-cognition would mediate the association between CEN and depression; and (c) whether friendship quality would moderate the direct and indirect associations between CEN and depression via maladaptive self-cognition. Participants were 1639 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.49 years, SD = 1.11). They completed questionnaires regarding demographics, CEN, maladaptive self-cognition, and friendship quality at Time 1. After 7 months, they finished the measure of depression at Time 2. Results showed that CEN was positively associated with adolescent depression, and this relation was mediated by maladaptive self-cognition. Furthermore, friendship quality moderated the association between CEN and maladaptive self-cognition, with the relation being stronger for adolescents with lower levels of friendship quality. However, friendship quality did not moderate the association between maladaptive self-cognition and depression, as well as the direct association between CEN and depression. This study contributes to a better understanding of adolescent depression and provide important guidance for treating this disorder.