Perceived social support and self-compassion as serial mediators of relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress

Background: Previous studies have consistently found a robust relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress. Despite the increasing number of studies in recent years that have identified social support or self-compassion as potential mechanisms in this relationship, no study examines the mediating role of both social support and self-compassion in adults. Aim: This study aimed to investigate social support and self-compassion as potential mediators in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress using a serial mediation model. Method: Using online surveys, a total of 310 participants ( M age = 28.83, SD = 6.07) were included in this study. The data was collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – Short Form. The proposed serial mediation model was conducted using PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: After controlling age and gender, the results showed that: (a) there was a direct effect of childhood maltreatment on psychological distress ( B = 0.192, p < .001); (b) self-compassion mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress (effect = 0.107, SE = 0.03, 95% CI [0.051, 0.170]) whereas social support did not mediate this relationship (effect = 0.026, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [−0.009, 0.065]); and (c) social support and self-compassion mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress in a sequential way (effect = 0.053, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [0.031, 0.083]). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that increasing social support resources and particularly addressing self-compassion in therapy may help individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment.