From childhood emotional abuse to adolescent loneliness: The roles of self-compassion and rejection sensitivity

Background

Emotional abuse is one of the important risk factors for adolescent loneliness. However, there is a shortage of information regarding protective factors and potential mediating mechanisms between emotional abuse and adolescent loneliness, which require further investigation.

Objectives

The present study explored the chain mediating role of self-compassion and rejection sensitivity on the pathway from childhood emotional abuse to adolescent loneliness, based on attachment theory and a stress process model.

Participants and setting

Five hundred sixty-seven Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 17 years participated in this study.

Methods

An online questionnaire was utilized to assess a variety of variables including childhood emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, self-compassion, rejection sensitivity, and loneliness. To increase the validity of the results, physical and sexual abuse were included as covariates since emotional abuse may co-occur with these types of abuse.

Results

Emotional abuse in childhood is significantly positively correlated with adolescent loneliness. Emotional abuse in childhood can affect adolescent loneliness not only directly, but also indirectly through self-compassion (including its components of self-warmth and self-coldness) and rejection sensitivity.

Conclusions

This study sheds further light on the chain mediating role of self-compassion and rejection sensitivity in the relationship between emotional abuse in childhood and loneliness in adolescence, suggesting that intervention programs targeting increased self-compassion and decreased rejection sensitivity may be effective to reduce loneliness in adolescents.