Why emotional neglect brings suicidal ideation? The mediating effect of meaning in life and the moderating effect of post-stress growth

BACKGROUND

Emotional neglect during childhood has long-lasting negative effects on individuals, and it is often hidden and unrecognized. Previous research has not fully understood its unique effects on mental health outcomes, especially when considering the co-occurrence with other forms of maltreatment. The meaning-making coping and growth model suggests that individuals achieve positive psychological outcomes by constructively integrating negative experiences into their self-concept, which may be a protective mechanism against the detrimental effects of emotional neglect.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the relationship between emotional neglect and suicidal ideation among undergraduates, accounting for the presence of emotional abuse and physical neglect, and to investigate the mediating role of meaning in life and the moderating role of post-stress growth in this relationship.

METHODS

A self-reported survey was conducted with 3132 undergraduate students from a university in South China. The survey assessed emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical neglect, suicidal ideation, post-stress growth, and meaning in life.

RESULTS

Meaning in life partially mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and suicidal ideation. Post-stress growth moderated the association between emotional neglect and the sense of meaning in life, in particular the moderation effect was stronger when emotional abuse was weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

Meaning in life mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and suicide ideation. Post-stress growth moderated the mediation effect such that it was weakened among individual with a higher level of post-stress growth. This study contributes to the understanding of the psychopathological processes following emotional neglect and the development of positive personal changes thereafter.

Racism and Stress-Related Growth Among Asian Internationals: Ethnic Identity, Resilience, and Coping During COVID-19

Experiences of anti-Asian discrimination following COVID-19 has deleterious effects on the mental health of Asian internationals residing in the United States. In this study, hierarchical regression models and Hayes’ PROCESS models were used to examine the main effect and moderating effect of ethnic identity, coping strategy, and resilience on stress-related growth among Asian international students and workers (N = 237) in the United States who experienced racism during the pandemic. The findings indicated coping strategies and resilience were significantly associated with stress-related growth. Ethnic identity and coping strategies additionally moderated the link between the experience of racism and stress-related growth.

Anger among Chinese migrants amid COVID-19 discrimination: The role of host news coverage, cultural distance, and national identity

As the early COVID-19 outbreak sparked xenophobia against people of Asian and Chinese background, we collected data from Chinese migrants worldwide to test how discrimination at a macro-level was perceived by the Chinese during COVID-19 globally. Specifically, we examined (1) whether/how the Chinese migrants were aware of discrimination against their co-nationals during COVID; (2) if so, whether anger was a predominant reaction of these Chinese towards certain exposure to relevant information; (3) how responses of anger transcend across the group of Chinese migrants. Integrating the ecological approach to media and cultural psychology, as well as the intergroup perspective of social psychology, we conducted a study that explored the impact of traditional media exposure to discrimination on collective anger-a process mediated by national identity among the Chinese migrants. Findings provide some evidence that geographically dispersed mono-cultural groups may share or identify with collective emotions when facing xenophobic threats in a macro context. Further examination of cultural distance (between China and the host country) among the Chinese migrants also revealed a particular interaction between host newspaper coverage and cultural distance on national identity. These findings suggest further research to examine the emotional norms of similar cultures bonded via strong collective identities in times of intergroup threat and the theoretical possibility for diasporic identity processes.

Discrimination and Posttraumatic Growth Among Muslim American Youth: Mediation via Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Muslim Americans increasingly have been targets of discrimination. Previous research has provided preliminary evidence that higher perceived discrimination is associated with higher symptoms of discrimination-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and higher discrimination-related posttraumatic growth (PTG). Further research in other contexts has shown that PTSD symptoms mediate the relationship between event severity and PTG. However, no existing studies have explored discrimination-related PTG and whether PTSD symptoms mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and discrimination-related PTG among Muslim Americans. The current study included 110 Muslim American college students who completed an online survey assessing perceived discrimination, discrimination-related PTSD symptoms, and discrimination-related PTG. Higher perceived discrimination was significantly associated with higher discrimination-related PTG at the bivariate level. In a multivariable mediation model, the indirect effect of perceived discrimination on discrimination-related PTG via discrimination-related PTSD was statistically significant. The results suggest that clinicians working with Muslim American college students should attend to the ways in which their discriminatory experiences could foster PTG, in addition to helping them cope with PTSD symptoms.

Cognitive Flexibility, Relativistic Appreciation, and Ethnocultural Empathy Among Chinese International Students

Based on Berry’s (1997) framework, we investigated the mediating effect of cognitive flexibility and the moderating effect of relativistic appreciation on the association between acculturative stress and ethnocultural empathy. A total of 199 Chinese international students from two Midwestern universities in the United States participated. Results indicated support for both hypotheses. First, cognitive flexibility significantly mediated the association between acculturative stress and ethnocultural empathy. Second, relativistic appreciation significantly moderated the effects of acculturative stress on ethnocultural empathy. Specifically, the effect of acculturative stress on ethnocultural empathy was significantly negative for those with relativistic appreciation levels below the 26th percentile. Conversely, this effect was not significant for those with relativistic appreciation levels above the 26th percentile. Our results offer a new perspective on acculturative stress, provides tools for clinicians working with Chinese international students who are coping with acculturative stress, and advocates for culturally appropriate coping strategies.