Child psychological maltreatment, depression, psychological inflexibility and difficulty in identifying feelings, a moderated mediation model

Abstract Child psychological maltreatment has a strong relationship with college students’ depression. However, the potential mediating and moderating variables between the two need further exploration. This study collected subjective data of college students from two universities in China through a cross-sectional survey, including variables such as child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and depression. Through correlation analysis, a mediation model and a moderated mediation model were constructed to explore the interrelationships among the variables.The research results show that there is a significant positive correlation between child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and college students’ depression. Moreover, psychological inflexibility plays a mediating role between child psychological maltreatment and college students’ depression, while difficulty in identifying feelings significantly moderates the relationship between child psychological maltreatment and college students’ depression. This study reveals the significant associations among child psychological maltreatment, psychological inflexibility, difficulty in identifying feelings, and college students’ depression. These findings remind us to pay attention to the potential mediating role of psychological inflexibility and the moderating role of difficulty in identifying feelings when exploring the relationship between child psychological maltreatment and college students’ depression. These results provide a new perspective for understanding the psychological mechanism of depression and offer potential targets for prevention and intervention.