Childhood Emotional Abuse and Somatic Symptoms: The Mediating Effect of Self‐Hate

Childhood emotional abuse is a recognized factor for long‐term psychological and physical health problems, including persistent somatic symptoms. Negative self‐beliefs, such as self‐hate‐related beliefs, may explain how emotional mistreatment contributes to physical distress in adulthood beyond general emotional difficulties. A longitudinal study was conducted with 298 help‐seeking adults. At baseline, participants completed measures of childhood emotional abuse, self‐hate, and general negative affectivity. Somatic symptoms were assessed two months later. Mediation analyses tested whether self‐hate mediated the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and somatic symptoms while accounting for the influence of general negative affectivity, which reflects a general tendency to experience negative emotional states. Participants ( M age = 33.7, SD = 11.8) were predominantly female (63.3%) and Caucasian (84.2%). Childhood emotional abuse ( M = 11.24, SD = 6.60) was significantly associated with self‐hate ( M = 10.35, SD = 6.13, r = 0.33, p < 0.001) and somatic symptoms ( M = 13.99, SD = 6.76, r = 0.27, p < 0.001). Self‐hate strongly correlated with somatic symptoms ( r = 0.45, p < 0.001). Mediation analyses showed that self‐hate significantly mediated the link between emotional abuse and somatic symptoms, even after accounting for general negative affectivity as a covariate (indirect effect = 0.07, 99% CI [0.03, 0.13]). These findings highlight self‐hate as a key mechanism linking childhood emotional abuse to somatic symptoms. Even when controlling for broader emotional instability, self‐hate remained central. Addressing these negative self‐beliefs through targeted interventions may help reduce both emotional suffering and associated physical manifestations.