Linking Emotional Maltreatment to Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: The Roles of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Self-Talk

Exposure to emotional maltreatment is related to adolescent prosocial behavior, but it remains unclear whether this relationship is related to basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-talk patterns. This study investigated the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and prosocial behavior, as well as the moderating role of self-talk and relevant demographic variables. Data were drawn from a sample of 2,058 Chinese students ( M age = 12.21, SD = 0.44, 51.7% girls). Integrating variable- and person-centered approaches, we conducted structural equation modeling (SEM), latent profile analysis (LPA), and multigroup SEM. SEM showed that basic psychological needs satisfaction negatively mediates the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and prosocial behavior. LPA identified four profiles of self-talk: low positive self-talk (PST)-low negative self-talk (NST), high PST-low NST, high PST-high NST, and low PST-high NST. Multigroup SEM revealed that the link between emotional maltreatment and basic psychological needs satisfaction was significantly weaker in subgroups with high PST-high NST and high PST-low NST compared to those in low PST-low NST and high PST-low NST subgroups, and high self-talk itself (i.e., high PST-high NST) reduced maltreatment impacts more than low self-talk (i.e., low PST-low NST). Additionally, emotional maltreatment shows a stronger negative correlation with basic psychological needs satisfaction among adolescents from incomplete families than among those from complete families. These findings offer practical implications in enhancing social adaptation of adolescents who were abused from the perspectives of basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-talk.