Psychological Maltreatment, Meaning in Life, Emotions, and Psychological Health in Young Adults: A Multi-Mediation Approach

Abstract

Young adults with psychological problems are at risk for experiencing personal, social, and economic difficulties, such as educational problems, poverty, social difficulties, and unemployment. Therefore, understanding the risks and protective factors of psychological health problems is a critical step in designing preventative approaches and interventions to foster young adults’ mental health and well-being. This study aims to examine the mediating role of meaning in life, positive emotions, and negative emotions in the relationship between psychological maltreatment and psychological health problems among Turkish young adults. The study included 381 young adults. Participants were 33% male and 67% female and ranged in age from 18 to 41 years (M = 20.73, SD = 3.36). Structural equation modelling indicated that psychological maltreatment had significant predictive effects on positive and negative emotions and meaning in life among young adults. Psychological maltreatment was also predictive of emotions and psychological health problems through meaning in life, and meaning in life mitigate the negative effect of maltreatment on well-being and psychological health. Similarly, both negative and positive emotions mediated the effect of psychological maltreatment on young adults’ psychological health problems. In these results indicate that psychological maltreatment’s effect on psychological health can be mitigated through cultivating meaning in life and positive emotions and striving to manage negative emotions.