Childhood Maltreatment, Psychopathology Symptoms and Life Satisfaction: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Prioritizing Positivity and Positive Affect

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a robust predictor of adverse mental-health outcomes. The psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship represent a crucial area of research that has received great support in recent years. However, few studies have explored the potential mechanisms pertaining to positive psychology. In this study, we investigated two potential candidates: prioritizing positivity (PP) and positive affect (PA). More specifically, we sought (1) to investigate the associations between CM, PP, PA, and two mental health outcomes (i.e., psychopathology symptoms and life satisfaction), and (2) to test the mediating roles of PP and PA in the association between CM and the two mental health outcomes. Participants (268; M age= 31.9; SD= 10.6) completed self-report measures on all variables. Findings indicated that CM was positively associated with psychopathology symptoms and negatively associated with PP, PA, and life satisfaction. Moreover, PP partially mediated the relationship between CM and both mental health outcomes. The mediating effect on both outcomes was partially explained by PA. These findings provide novel contributions by bringing support to the mechanistic involvement of PP in the relationship between CM and mental health. Future studies could explore specific interventions that may target PP.