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Received: 16 January 2023
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Revised: 19 May 2023
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Accepted: 10 July 2023
DOI: 10.1002/pits.23027
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Emotional neglect and posttraumatic growth
among Chinese adolescents: A moderated
mediation model of psychological suzhi and
school engagement
Yang Chen
1,2
|Shenshen Zhan
1,2
|Xinyi Zhao
1,2
|
Siyuan Chen
1,2
|Huazhan Yin
1,2
1
Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal
University, Changsha, China
2
Center for Mind & Brain Science, Hunan
Normal University, Changsha, China
Correspondence
Huazhan Yin, Department of Psychology,
School of Education Science, Hunan Normal
University, 36 Lushan Rd, Changsha 410081,
Hunan, China.
Email: yhz1979@sina.com
Funding information
Hunan education “thirteen five”planning
project, Grant/Award Number: XJK20AXL01
Abstract
Emotional neglect is an under‐recognized but relatively
common type of childhood maltreatment. Although it has
been reported that adolescents will facilitate positive
growth after experiencing childhood maltreatment, such
as sexual abuse, it is unknown whether adolescents could
also get a promotion after experiencing emotional neglect.
Thus, we aimed to examine the association between
emotional neglect and posttraumatic growth (PTG) and
further explored the potential influence factors underlying
such association. Six hundred and thirty‐five adolescents
(55.2% female, M
age
= 14.12 years old, SD = 1.47) were
asked to complete self‐report questionnaires regarding
emotional neglect, school engagement, psychological suzhi,
and PTG. Results showed that emotional neglect was
negatively associated with PTG, and school engagement
mediated such association. Further, psychological suzhi
moderated the direct pathway from emotional neglect to
PTG in which the deleterious effect of emotional neglect on
PTG was weaker for adolescents who reported higher
psychological suzhi. Meanwhile, psychological suzhi mod-
erated the indirect pathway from emotional neglect to
school engagement in the mediated model in which the
deleterious effect of emotional neglect on school
Psychology in the Schools. 2023;1–16. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pits © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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engagement was weaker for adolescents who reported
higher psychological suzhi. Overall, the current study
advances our understanding of the relationship between
emotional neglect and PTG, and further tests the potential
roles of school engagement and psychological suzhi in this
relationship.
KEYWORDS
adolescents, emotional neglect, posttraumatic growth,
psychological suzhi, school engagement
1|INTRODUCTION
People who have suffered traumatic life events often experience posttraumatic stress. However, traumatic life
experience can also be viewed as the catalyst for fostering enduring positive psychological changes (Jayawickreme
& Infurna, 2021), which is known as posttraumatic growth (PTG). Ample evidence has proved that people who have
experienced childhood maltreatment, such as sexual abuse (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021),
reported effectively navigating their trauma and exhibited high levels of PTG. However, little is known about the
relationship between emotional neglect, an overlooked but relatively common type of childhood maltreatment
(Glaser, 2002), and PTG among adolescents. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the relationship
between emotional neglect and PTG and further explore the potential influence factors driving this relationship.
1.1 |Emotional neglect and PTG
Emotional neglect is typically defined as a failure for parents to connect emotionally with children (Wark et al., 2003), and
characterized by the parents' emotional unavailability and unresponsiveness (Glaser, 2002; Young et al., 2011). Numerous
studies have revealed that childhood emotional neglect is terrible for mental health development (Infurna et al., 2016;
Schimmenti et al., 2015). Adolescents are in a critical period to foster mental health as more than half of psychological
problemsarediscoveredatthislifestage(Kessleretal.,2005). It has become a priority worldwide that researchers should
keep a close eye on adolescents' mental health development. Significantly, emotional neglect has been clarified as the
predominant form of maltreatment worldwide (Naughton et al., 2017; NSPCC, 2014; US Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children Youth and Families & Children's
Bureau, 2013). For example, according to self‐reported UK prevalence statistics (Radford et al., 2011), one in seven
adolescents reported that they were subjected to childhood emotional neglect. One in five adolescents in China has
experienced childhood emotional neglect, which is highly prevalent (Ji & Finkelhor, 2015). One alternative explanation is
that it is not typically encouraged culturally for Chinese parents to express love, but instead raise their children with strict
discipline and scarce emotional attention (Zhu et al., 2013).
Based on the life history theory (Ellis, 2004; Figueredo et al., 2006), unsafe and unpredictable growth
environments may decrease individuals' tolerance of frustration and make them to be fragile when facing traumatic
life events (Chang & Lu, 2018). Emotional neglect is a serious threat to a child's growth environment (Stoltenborgh
et al., 2012); therefore, it is likely to reduce the chances of developing PTG after experiencing traumatic events
(Berzenski, 2019; Jayawickreme & Infurna, 2021). Substantial research has documented that emotional neglect has
a deleterious effect on the child's development, and such harm extends into adolescence and even adulthood
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(Hicks & Stein, 2015). For instance, children suffering from emotional neglect are likely to be distraught by their
miserable experiences due to the increased awareness of events (Rees et al., 2011) and underestimate the chronic
damage of emotional neglect (Naughton et al., 2017).
1.2 |School engagement as the mediator
School engagement is a multidimensional concept used to assess the extent to which students are involved, connected,
and committed to school and motivated to learn and achieve (Fredricks et al., 2004). According to the stage‐environment
fit theory (Eccles & Midgley, 1989), better parent–child relationships act as a motivational resource that contributes to a
higher level of school engagement for adolescents. Inversely, frequent exposure to childhood emotional neglect results in
an imbalance between adolescents' psychological demands and the adversities they have to face. As a result, they are
unwilling to foster beneficial social interactions, such as those with teachers and classmates at school, and have no interest
in doing so (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021). In other words, adolescents' school engagement may decline
due to the impact of emotional neglect (Mcneil et al., 2020).
Besides, within the process of developing PTG, social support is presumed to be a major influencing factor
(Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2014). Further, there is proof that the influence of social support on PTG particularly depends
on the source of that support (Meyerson et al., 2011). It is now widely acknowledged that effective interaction with
school significantly predicts adolescents' healthy growth (Dotterer & Lowe, 2011). Furthermore, school
engagement represents the willingness to establish a positive interaction with the school (Fredricks et al., 2004).
Therefore, school engagement seems to be a strong predictor of PTG in adolescents. In theory, we adopted a
developmental ecological model (DEM) to construct the relationship between school engagement and PTG
(Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). This model emphasizes the importance of positive social connections for
adolescents across key microsystems, including family and school. More importantly, healthy development results
from the students' active participation in increasingly complex, reciprocal interactions with the people, things, and
symbols in their immediate environment (You & Sharkey, 2009). In addition, Schaefer and Moos (1992) proposed
that adolescent students' positive relationships with their school's aid in developing positive coping styles. Andreou
et al. (2021) also found that favorable school environment was positively associated with higher levels of PTG.
1.3 |Psychological suzhi as the moderator
Psychological suzhi is an essential, stable, and implicit psychological quality supporting adolescents' adaptive and
developmental behaviors (Wu et al., 2018). It has gained recognition and acceptance among Western academia on
the strength of a large number of theoretical and empirical investigations among Chinese adolescents over the last
30 years. Recently, the concept of psychological suzhi was discussed in the Handbook of Positive Psychology in
Schools (Second Edition), an international authoritative reference book (Furlong et al., 2014).
Based on the attachment theory, a good parent–child relationship effectively promotes the child's mental health and
personality development (Bannink et al., 2013). On the contrary, a negative parent–child relationship is a risk factor for the
child's positive growth. Broadly, parents play a fundamental role in the growth environment system. While interacting with
parents, they subtly learn from their parents. Moreover, an insecure attachment means that parents and children interact
with each other uncomfortably. Thus, children are also less likely to develop a positive personality under an unfavorable
environment and negative parents' guidance. An empirical study has revealed that adverse parent–child relationships are
detrimental to cultivating adolescents' psychological suzhi (Mo et al., 2021).
Similar to psychological resilience, which is known as a good trait that allows individuals to recover from
stressful events readily, psychological suzhi is also very important to maintain a positive attitude and mindset when
facing adversity and trauma (Nie et al., 2020). Differently, psychological suzhi pertains more to individuals' proactive
CHEN ET AL.
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psychological development and emphasizes adaptation to one's environment in general (Wu et al., 2018).
Substantial research suggests that psychological suzhi may be recognized as an ability to continue living a
purposeful life after experiencing adversity and hardship (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). It also allowed people to
manage traumatic experiences well (Duan et al., 2015).
Besides, an empirical study suggested that higher psychological suzhi may be positively associated with
fostering school engagement (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021), and students with a higher ability
to adapt to their school environments reported more positive school‐related behaviors. Adolescents with higher
psychological suzhi more often adopt active coping strategies, such as seeking positive social support on their own,
which also predicts higher school engagement (Nie et al., 2020).
1.4 |The current study
It is imperative to investigate the association between emotional neglect and PTG, especially among Chinese
adolescents, and further explore the potential influence factors driving this relationship. Grounded on psychological
theories and previous empirical studies, we proposed the following hypotheses: (1) emotional neglect was
negatively associated with PTG; (2) school engagement mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and
PTG; and (3) psychological suzhi moderated the relationship between emotional neglect and PTG. A more detailed
model of the hypothesized mediating role of school engagement and the hypothesized moderating role of
psychological suzhi in the relationship between emotional neglect and PTG is presented in Figure 1.
2|METHOD
2.1 |Participants and procedure
This study gathered convenience samples from two high schools located in Hunan province, China. A clustered
sampling design was used to ensure that the adolescent sample was representative of age. The inclusion criteria
FIGURE 1 Model of the hypothesized mediating role of school engagement and the hypothesized moderating
role of psychological suzhi in the relationship between emotional neglect and PTG. PTG, posttraumatic growth.
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were as follows: (1) the participants did not have severe comorbidities and psychotic symptoms, such as
hallucinations, delusion, and so forth; (2) the participants were able to finish the questionnaires independently. A
total of 700 adolescents were guided to participate in this study, and 667 adolescents answered the questionnaire
corresponding to a response rate of 95.3%. Thirty‐two were excluded from the analyses due to incompleteness or
apparent systematic bias (i.e., all responses were “yes”or “no”). Ultimately, the data were analyzed for 635
respondents between 11 and 17 years old (55.2% female, M
age
= 14.12 years old, SD = 1.47).
The post‐graduates studying psychology served as investigators. Before the formal investigation, the
investigators were asked to accept a 3‐day training on the approaches of distributing and collecting questionnaires,
potential difficulties, and ethical requirements. The questionnaire was completed during a self‐study course.
Participants were invited to complete the questionnaires with the assistance of their teachers and the researchers.
With the help of their teachers in charge, the investigators distributed and collected the questionnaires and
answered any questions in Mandarin Chinese. Questionnaires required about 15 min to complete, and the
questionnaires were collected once the participants reported that they had completed them. Written informed
consent were obtained from all participants, their caregivers, and teachers. Participants were informed that all
results were confidential. This study was approved by the research ethics committee of Hunan Normal university.
2.2 |Measures
2.2.1 |Emotional neglect
We adopted the emotional neglect subscale from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire‐Short Form (CTQ‐SF, Fink
& Bernstein, 1998) to measure the emotional neglect of adolescents. It has been proven to have good reliability and
validity in a sample of Chinese adolescents (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021). This subscale has five
items to indicate the level of emotional neglect (e.g., There was someone in my family who helped me feel that I was
important or special). All items rated on a 5‐point Likert‐type scale and each item were scored from 1 (never true) to
5 (very often true). The responses were averaged across the five items (after reverse‐coding), with higher scores
indicating higher levels of emotional neglect in adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that all
items of the scale examine a common dimension (Chen et al., 2014). In this study, the CFA results indicated that the
subscale was suitable for use in our sample (χ
2
/df = 0.24, CFI = 1.00, TLI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.00). Additionally, the
Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the total scale in this study was 0.74, indicating that the CTQ‐SF showed suitable
internal reliability.
2.2.2 |School engagement
The 15‐item Behavioral‐Emotional‐Cognitive School Engagement Scale (BEC‐SES) developed by Li et al. (2010) was
used to measure school engagement, which has demonstrated good reliability and validity in a sample of Chinese
adolescents (Li et al., 2017). There are three subscales in the BEC‐SES: the behavioral engagement subscale is
designed to assess contribution to class discussion, preparation, skipping class, and finishing homework on time; the
emotional engagement subscale assesses the students' sense of belonging and affect toward school; the cognitive
engagement subscale assesses the extent to which students valued education and things learned at school, and
their thoughts about learning. Each subscale has five items equally, and each item rated on a 4‐point Likert‐type
scale. The item is scored from 1 (never) to 4 (always) in the behavioral engagement subscale, while the item in
emotional and cognitive engagement subscale is scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher
scores indicating higher levels of school engagement in adolescents. In this study, the CFA results indicated that the
BEC‐SES was suitable for use with the current study's sample (χ
2
/df = 3.32, CFI = 0.91, TLI = 0.89, RMSEA = 0.06) in
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addition, the Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the total scale in this study was 0.80, indicating that the BEC‐SES
showed good internal reliability.
2.2.3 |Psychological suzhi
The simplified version of the Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for Adolescents (PSQAS) was used to measure the
psychological suzhi (Pan et al., 2018). Nie et al. (2020) demonstrated that this scale had a good reliability and the
validity in a sample of Chinese adolescents. This scale is suitable for use with Chinese adolescents and contains 24
items examining the following dimensions of suzhi: cognitive quality (e.g., I am interested in new knowledge),
individuality (e.g., I can solve problems independently), and adaptability (e.g., I am a popular person, respectively). All
items were rated on a 5‐point Likert‐type scale. Each item was scored from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree)
with higher scores indicating higher levels of psychological suzhi. In this study, the CFA results indicated that the
PSQAS was suitable for use with the current study's sample (χ
2
/df = 3.09, CFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.89, RMSEA = 0.06).
Also, the Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the total scale in this study was 0.90, indicating that the PSQAS showed
good internal reliability.
2.2.4 |PTG
PTG was evaluated using the 21‐item Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) developed by Tedeschi and Calhoun
(2004). The Chinese version of the scale was developed and validated by Gao et al. (2010). Furthermore, empirical
studies have clarified that the Chinese version of this scale reported acceptable validity and reliability evidence in a
sample of Chinese adolescents (Zhou et al., 2014). The PTGI comprises five domains of PTG: relating to others, new
possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life. The participants were asked to rate 21
positive statements that describe the various changes caused by traumatic events. All items were rated on a 6‐point
Likert‐type scale and each item was scored from 0 (I did not experience this change as a result of my crisis) to 5 (I
experienced this change to a very great degree as a result of my crisis) with higher scores indicating higher levels of
PTG. In this study, the CFA results indicated that the PTGI was suitable for use in our sample (χ
2
/df = 3.85,
CFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.89, RMSEA = 0.06). Additionally, the Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the total scale in this study
was 0.88, indicating that the PTGI showed good internal reliability.
2.3 |Common method deviation
Method biases may create a problem because they are one of the main sources of measurement error (Podsakoff
et al., 2003). The common method deviation refers to the false common variation between traits caused by the use
of the same measurement tool, which often appears when the data are measured by self‐reported scales (Campbell
& Fiske, 1959). Harman's single‐factor test is typically used in psychological studies to test common method
deviation. The unrotated factor analysis results were used to examine the number of factors with characteristic
roots greater than 1 and the cumulative percentage of factor 1. If the percentage is less than the critical value 50%
(Podsakoff & Organ, 1986), it can basically judge that the common method has a small degree of deviation. Thus,
the Harman single‐factor test was used to examine the common method deviation in this study. The results showed
that there were 11 factors with an eigenvalue greater than 1, and the variation explained by the first factor was
23.35%, less than 40%, indicating that there was no serious common method deviation in the data of this study.
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2.4 |Data analysis
IBM SPSS 25.0 software was used to examine correlations and descriptive statistics, and structural equation modeling
(SEM) was used to examine mediation and moderation effects with Mplus Version 8.0. We conducted the fit index
measurements to reveal how well the proposed model explained the data and if these indexes revealed that the proposed
model was acceptable or not (Hoyle, 2012). The fit indexes of the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the
ratio of chi‐square over degrees of freedom (χ
2
/df), comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) were considered
in the assessment of the model goodness of fit. With RMSEA value being between 0 and 0.05 (0.05 included); χ
2
/df value
between 0 and 2 (2 included); and the values of CFI and TLI between 0.95 and 1.00 considered as ideal fit indexes. With
RMSEA value being between 0.05 and 0.08; χ
2
/df value between less than 5 and the values of CFI and TLI between 0.90
and 0.95 (0.90 included) considered acceptable fit indexes (Byrne, 2010).
Vishnevsky et al. (2010) conducted a meta‐analysis to examine the effect of gender on PTG and found that
females reported more PTG than males. Moreover, an empirical study found that age was positively associated with
PTG (Currier et al., 2009), while Kimhi et al. (2010) found the inconsistency in which age was negatively related to
PTG. Thus, it was decided to control gender and age when constructing the analysis model to examine the
relationship among the study variables.
3|RESULTS
3.1 |Descriptive statistics
Table 1shows the means and SDs of each variable, as well as the correlations between each variable. The results showed
that emotional neglect was negatively associated with school engagement, psychological suzhi, and PTG (r=−.404, p<.01;
r=−.332, p<.01; r=−.420, p< .01). Psychological suzhi was positively correlated with school engagement and PTG
(r= .577, p<.01;r= .504, p< .01). School engagement was positively correlated with PTG (r= .538, p< .01).
3.2 |The relationship between emotional neglect and PTG
To begin with, we examined the association between emotional neglect and PTG in this study (see Table 2). The
model fits the data well (χ
2
/df = 3.10, CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.06). Results demonstrated that emotional
neglect was negatively associated with PTG (β=−.42, p< .01). Therefore, there is support for Hypothesis (1).
TABLE 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations among all variables (N= 635).
Variable MSD123456
1. Gender 1.55 0.49 –
2. Age 14.12 1.46 −0.02 –
3. PTG 40.32 12.61 0.02 0.17** –
4. School engagement 27.02 6.65 0.13** 0.04 0.54** –
5. Psychological suzhi 69.34 14.30 −0.03 0.08*0.50** 0.58** –
6. Emotional neglect 4.94 4.39 −0.003 −0.15** −0.42** −0.40** −0.33** –
Note: Gender is a dummy variable such as male = 1 and female = 2. Mis mean value; SD is standard deviation. N= 635.
*p< .05; **p< .01.
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3.3 |The mediating role of school engagement
We examined the mediating effect of school engagement in the relationship between emotional neglect and PTG
(see Table 2). Results showed acceptable data fit, (χ
2
/df = 2.44, CFI = 0.88, TLI = 0.87, RMSEA = 0.05). The results
showed that the direct path of the mediation model was still significant when school engagement was taken into
account (β=−.19, p< .05), suggesting that school engagement played a partial mediating effect in the relationship
between emotional neglect and PTG. More specifically, emotional neglect was negatively associated with school
engagement (β=−.58, p< .01), and school engagement was positively associated with PTG (β= .60, p< .01). The
indirect effect of the mediation model was significant (indirect effect = −.35, p< .01, 95% CI [−0.48, −0.25]).
3.4 |The moderating effect of psychological suzhi
In addition, we examined the role of psychological suzhi in association between emotional neglect and PTG (see
Table 2). As expected, psychological suzhi moderated the direct pathway from emotional neglect to PTG (β= .13,
p< .01). Results showed acceptable data fit, (χ
2
/df = 3.46, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.06). Follow‐up analysis
(see Figure 2) measured the simple slopes of emotional negl ect (i.e., regression coefficients of the factor at
conditional values of psychological suzhi) at lower (1 SD below mean) and higher (1 SD above the mean) levels of
the psychological suzhi for understanding the nature of the interaction. The results showed that higher emotional
neglect was related to lower PTG among adolescents with a low level of psychological suzhi (−1 SD), β=−1.63,
p< .01. However, for adolescents with a high level of psychological suzhi (+1 SD), the effect of emotional neglect on
PTG was weaker, although still significant (β=−.63, p< .05). Therefore, high psychological suzhi might be a
protective factor for adolescents. In other words, psychological suzhi buffered the deleterious effect of emotional
neglect on PTG in adolescents.
Except for moderating the direct pathway of the mediation model, psychological suzhi also moderated the relationship
between emotional neglect and school engagement (β=.11, p<.01).TheresultsaredisplayedinTable3and Figure 3.The
model showed an acceptable fit to the data: (χ
2
/df = 3.26, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.06). Further analysis (as shown
in Figure 4) measured the simple slopes of emotional neglect at lower (1 SD below the mean) and higher (1 SD above the
mean) levels of emotional neglect. For adolescents with a low level of psychological suzhi (−1 SD), emotional neglect was
negatively related to school engagement (β=−.63, p< .01). For adolescents with a high level of psychological suzhi (+1 SD),
the effect of emotional neglect on school engagement was weaker, but also significant (β=−.29, p< .05). Therefore, high
TABLE 2 Standardized direct and indirect effects between the study variables.
Effects Pathways
Equal (dependent variable: PTG)
Path coefficient
Direct Emotional neglect −0.42**
Indirect with mediator Emotional neglect −0.19*
School engagement 0.60**
Indirect with moderator Emotional neglect −0.32**
Psychological suzhi 0.45**
Emotional neglect × Psychological suzhi 0.13**
Note: PTG serves as a dependent variable.
*p< .05; **p< .01.
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psychological suzhi also served as a protective factor for adolescents in which could buffer the deleterious effect of
emotional neglect on school engagement.
4|DISCUSSION
To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to comprehensively investigate the associations among emotional
neglect, school engagement, psychological suzhi, and PTG in adolescents. To begin with, results showed that
emotional neglect was negatively associated with PTG, which indicated that emotional neglect might not facilitate
positive growth in the aftermath of traumatic experiences in adolescents. Second, school engagement mediated the
association between emotional neglect and PTG in which emotional neglect was negatively associated with school
engagement, which in turn was positively associated with PTG. Finally, psychological suzhi moderated the pathway
from emotional neglect to PTG in the mediated model. Specifically, the effect of emotional neglect on PTG was
weaker for adolescents who reported high psychological suzhi. Meanwhile, psychological suzhi also moderated the
relationship between emotional neglect and school engagement, in which the effect of emotional neglect on school
engagement was weaker for adolescents who reported high psychological suzhi.
FIGURE 2 Psychological suzhi as a moderator of the relationship between emotional neglect and PTG.
EN, emotional neglect; PTG, posttraumatic growth.
TABLE 3 Standardized direct and indirect effects between the study variables.
Effects Pathways
Equal (dependent variable:
school engagement)
Path coefficient
Direct Emotional neglect −0.40**
Indirect with moderated
mediator
Emotional neglect −0.31**
Psychological suzhi 0.65**
Emotional neglect × Psychological suzhi 0.11**
Note: School engagement serves as dependent variable.
*p< .05; **p< .01.
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4.1 |Emotional neglect and PTG
Although previous studies have shown that adolescents would get some positive changes after experiencing
childhood maltreatment (Anderson et al., 2022; Glaser, 2002), such as sexual abuse (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021;
Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021), we surprisingly found that emotional neglect in childhood was negatively associated with
PTG in adolescents. The alternative explanations for this finding may be the following. First of all, it has been found
that adolescents suffering from emotional neglect in their early life are often discouraged and frightened (Adler
et al., 2021). Further, it will be difficult for neglected children to adapt to daily life after experiencing traumatic life
events (Chopik et al., 2021). More importantly, emotional neglect actually triggers negative feelings that are hard to
regulate and recover (Schimmenti et al., 2015). Consistent evidence has indicated that emotional neglect would be
viewed as the basic ground for other forms of childhood maltreatment to develop (Schimmenti & Caretti, 2010).
FIGURE 3 The moderated mediation model involving school engagement and psychological suzhi in the
association between emotional neglect and posttraumatic growth. The numbers are standardized regression
coefficients. The model also includes age and gender as controlled variables which are not shown for clarity of
presentation. *p< .05, **p< .01.
FIGURE 4 Psychological suzhi as a moderator of the relationship between emotional neglect and school
engagement. EN, emotional neglect.
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In addition, life history theory also emphasizes the vital role of parental effort on children's behavioral patterns of
development (Figueredo et al., 2006). For example, adolescents who grow up in a loveless and unsafe growth
environment are more likely to take quick life history strategies related to many maladjusted behaviors (Chang & Lu,
2018; Wang et al., 2020). Furthermore, it is critical to emphasize the deleterious effect of emotional neglect on
adolescents' psychological health from a developmental perspective (Glaser, 2002). Research in this field has
revealed that adolescents subjected to childhood emotional neglect exhibited lower subjective well‐being and less
prosocial behavior (Zurbriggen et al., 2019).
4.2 |The mediating role of school engagement
As expected, results showed that school engagement mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and
PTG. The current finding is consistent with existing research demonstrating that school engagement is a good
coping style, which would decrease the deleterious effect of childhood maltreatment experience on adolescents'
psychological health (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021; Chopik et al., 2021; Fredricks et al., 2004).
According to the stage‐environment fit theory (Eccles & Midgley, 1989), a bad parent–child relationship would
greatly diminish the students' interest in engaging in school activities. More specifically, parents' emotional neglect
and unresponsiveness also may reduce the interest in engagement in school (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen,
Zhu, et al., 2021). Thus, we suggested adolescents subjected to childhood emotional neglect could be less likely to
develop school engagement.
Furthermore, consistent with the literature, school engagement has attracted increasing attention as a possible
booster for making adolescents develop and grow positively (Fredricks et al., 2004; Wang & Fredricks, 2014).
School engagement also represents a good interaction of the adolescents with the context and is responsive to
variation in the environment in which they grow up (Fredricks et al., 2004). In light of the DEM (Bronfenbrenner &
Morris, 1998), adolescents' positive development benefits from the active engagement in developmental
environments, such as school. Chinese adolescents spend more time at school than those from the United States
or Europe (Zhu et al., 2017), which indicates that school engagement may play an important role specifically in
Chinese adolescents' positive development.
4.3 |The moderating role of psychological suzhi
We also found that psychological suzhi moderated the direct pathway from emotional neglect to PTG. More
specifically, higher psychological suzhi was a protective factor that buffered the deleterious effect of childhood
emotional neglect on adolescents' PTG. According to the attachment theory (Bannink et al., 2013), negative
parent–child relationships may effectively damage adolescents' positive development and healthy growth.
Moreover, the quality‐stress model (Chen, Zhang, et al., 2021; Chen, Zhu, et al., 2021) further indicated that a
higher level of psychological suzhi may buffer the deleterious impact of childhood maltreatment experiences on
adolescents' mental health. Previous studies have also found that childhood maltreatment experiences could induce
higher psychological vulnerability and inadaptation (Chopik et al., 2021; Lee et al., 2018; Mo et al., 2021). In
addition, it has been found that adolescents with higher psychological suzhi are more likely to develop better social
adjustment abilities and more prosocial behavior (Pan et al., 2018). By contrast, adolescents with lower
psychological suzhi have exhibited more maladaptive behaviors and suffered more when exposed to childhood
emotional neglect (Zhang et al., 2014). Therefore, adolescents who retrospectively reported higher levels of
childhood emotional neglect were more prone to exhibit lower levels of psychological suzhi and less likely to
develop PTG.
CHEN ET AL.
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This study also found that psychological suzhi also moderated the pathway from emotional neglect to school
engagement, in which adolescents with higher psychological suzhi suffered less from emotional neglect and
exhibited higher levels of school engagement. This finding extended the DEM that the change in key microsystems
(e.g., home) would create a change in personal characteristics, then indirectly create a change in adolescents' active
engagement in their growth environment (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). Notably, an empirical study also
suggested that psychological suzhi might serve as a mechanism to explain why adolescents good at managing
traumatic experiences demonstrated higher school engagement (Zeng et al., 2016). Specifically, those adolescents
who were more likely to bounce back from setbacks were more engaged in school activities in which psychological
suzhi enabled them to cope with highly competitive and stressful events adaptively.
4.4 |Practical implications
The present study has important implications for Chinese adolescents' school and family education. To begin, it was
found that adolescents who retrospectively reported childhood emotional neglect were less likely to experience
PTG since the traumatic life events occurred. It is now increasingly accepted that emotional neglect will cause
significant harm to the child's development and that this harm extends into adult life (Glaser, 2002). Therefore, early
effective interventions in childhood emotional neglect will be beneficial to healthy development later in life.
Secondly, school engagement had a mediating effect on the association between emotional neglect and PTG. This
finding suggested that school education should explore how to enhance the school participation of adolescents to
help them defend against the negative effect of childhood maltreatment. Previous studies have found that
promoting teacher‐student relationships and strengthening the support for student autonomy can effectively
increase adolescents' school engagement (Wang & Fredricks, 2014), which may provide the applied value for
intervention in emotional neglect. Finally, psychological suzhi showed a moderating effect on the direct pathway
from emotional neglect to PTG and the pathway from emotional neglect to school engagement, which suggested
that enhancing the psychological suzhi of adolescents may reduce the negative impacts of emotional neglect.
Adolescence is a crucial period in developing an individual's attitude on life and worldview and the cultivation of
psychological suzhi (Nie et al., 2020). In mental health education, schools should focus on cultivating children's
psychological suzhi and constructing a protective “psychological defense wall”for them ahead of time to mitigate
the detrimental impacts of emotional neglect.
4.5 |Recommendations
The findings in the present study may also provide some profound recommendations from both micro and macro
level perspective. First and foremost, this study highlights the beneficial effect of psychological suzhi on
adolescents' psychological health. Hence, it is imperative for caregivers to cultivate their psychological suzhi from a
microlevel perspective. In addition, educators can improve the clear and fair disciplinary structure and positive
social support in macrolevel perspective, which has been suggested by Nie et al. (2020). Additionally, positive social
support from the school can enhance the adolescents' school engagement, which may indirectly decrease the
harmful effect of childhood negative experiences.
4.6 |Limitations and future directions
The present study has left some open questions for future research. To begin, despite the fact that the cross‐sectional
design used in this study was founded on empirical and theoretical foundations, it still needed to fully deduce causality
12
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CHEN ET AL.
between emotional neglect and PTG. A longitudinal study should be considered in future studies to trace the causal link
between emotional neglect and PTG. Second, the present study did not test the potential impacts of family variables, such
as family income, parents' years of education, and the number of children in the family. For instance, Anderson et al. (2022)
found that lower family income was associated with frequent adverse childhood experiences and heightened mental
problems. Thus, it is considered to test family characteristics in future studies. Third, the sample selected in this study was
Chinese, which might limit the applicability of the findings to other locations. Future research should consider the impact of
culture and the necessity to broaden the scope of the study to improve ecological validity. Finally, the measure of
emotional neglect was based on retrospective recollection of events, which may have potential recall bias (Stoltenborgh
et al., 2013). Therefore, future research should consider using self‐report questionnaires and reports by informants such as
parentsandeducatorsincombination.
5|CONCLUSION
The high prevalence of emotional neglect among adolescents urges us to explore its risk consequences and the
potential influence of factors underlying these relationships. First, the negative association between emotional
neglect and PTG was found, providing empirical evidence that adolescents may have difficulty obtaining positive
growth after experiencing emotional neglect. School engagement served as a mediator by which emotional neglect
was negatively related to school engagement, which was positively related to PTG. Additionally, a high level of
psychological suzhi served as a buffer. In other words, high psychological suzhi was a protective factor and shrank
emotional neglect's negative impacts on PTG among Chinese adolescents.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Hunan education scientific “thirteen five”planning project (grant number:
XJK20AXL01).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The [DATA TYPE] data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon
request.
ETHICS STATEMENT
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study, and informed consent was
obtained from legal guardians.
ORCID
Yang Chen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2016-1931
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How to cite this article: Chen, Y., Zhan, S., Zhao, X., Chen, S., & Yin, H. (2023). Emotional neglect and
posttraumatic growth among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of psychological suzhi and
school engagement. Psychology in the Schools,1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23027
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